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Design Tool
The following describes the steps to create a universe with SAP BusinessObjects XI
4.0s new Information Design Tool.
There are a few new terms that may jump out as you are reading this, but in case
you have not noticed them, lets take a minute to list those terms out:
Data Foundation a schema that defines the relevant tables and joins from
one or more relational databases. The designer enhances the data foundation
with contexts, prompts, calculated columns, and other SQL definitions. The data
foundation becomes the basis of one or more business layers.
Business Layer the universe under construction, and when the business
layer is complete, it is compiled with the connections or connection shortcuts and
data foundation, published, and deployed as a universe.
Universe the compiled file that includes all resources used in the definition
of the metadata objects built in the design of the business layer.
Each of the items above refers to a resource that can be stored in a Project when
developing in the Information Design Tool. A project is a named local workspace that
contains one or more resources used to build universes. Projects can be shared so
that multiple designers are able to work on the same resources.
Step 1: Open the Information Design Tool. The new interface screen will be displayed.
NOTE All created resources will be labeled as TestProject[resourceType], i.e.
TestProjectConn for Test Project Connection.
A local project must exist to assign resources; otherwise an error message will be
given.
Step 3: Create a new Connection. Right-click on the project you just created, or use
File->New and choose the Relational Connection or OLAP Connection.
For the purpose of this entry, we will be creating a Relational Connection.
Step 4: Select the proper Database Middleware driver and configure the connection.
The tool comes equipped with several DB driver connections with a default
installation.
Note You must have proper privilege to the schema you are accessing. Also, an
ODBC or OLE DB connection must already be established to function properly.
A new connection should now be present and expanded in the project. This
connection remains local to the project. Connections to be used in published
universes will need to be published to the repository and saved as secure
connections.
Step 5: Publish the connection to the repository as a secure connection. Right-click
on the new local connection, or highlight the connection and choose the File>Publish->Publish Connection to a Repository option.
Step 6: Create a new Data Foundation and configure the Data Foundation. Right-click
on the project you created, or use the File->New->Data Foundation option.
Note there are two types of data foundations: Single-Source and MultisourceEnabled.
Single-Source
Support a single connection.
The connection can be local or secured, which means you can publish
database-specific SQL syntax, or you want to publish the universe locally and
work outside of a repository.
Multisource-Enabled
Support one or more connections.
You can add connections when you create the data foundation and anytime
later.
Required for the following situations: you want to insert tables and joins from
more than one relational data source, you want to insert tables and joins from
more than one relational data source, or you want to use SQL-92 syntax and SAP
BusinessObjects SQL functions.
Step 8: Choose the Tables to Insert. You also have an option to insert Derived Tables
and Views as well.
Note Joins to objects in the Data Foundation can either be detected or manually
inserted.
Step 9: Create a Business Layer. Right-click on the project you created, or use the
File->New and choose the Relational Business Layer or OLAP Business Layer. The
type of business layer depends upon the connection that you used for the Data
Foundation.
Step 10: Select the Data Foundation that you would like to use as the basis for the
business layer. The tool also provides the option to automatically create classes and
objects based on the Data Foundation Layer.
Step 11: Publish the Universe to the Repository. Right-click the Business Layer and
choose the Publish->To a Repository option. This will save the Universe as a .UNX
file.
Note Ensure the Connection for the corresponding Data Foundation is a Secure
Connection.
Step 12: Execute a Universe Integrity Check and ensure critical errors are resolved.
After clicking the Finish button, the Universe is successfully published and ready for
use by the users.
You can verify that the Universe is available by logging into Interactive Analysis and
creating a new document.
This concludes the guide to create a Universe using the Information Design Tool. As
you can see, some new terminology has been added along with a different approach
to create an entire universe. We feel that the new layout and approach is tailored for
multiple information designers to work on specific resources. Even though no official
statement has been made by SAP BusinessObjects, we believe that the Information
Design Tool will become the eventual successor to the Universe Design Tool.