Displaying Graphs and Reports

How to:

Reference:

When you graph a measure in an OLAP report, you select the specific data elements to include and then view the tabular report and a graphical representation of the identical information simultaneously in a split window. The graph appears in a frame in the top half of the window to facilitate comparison.

To create a graph, the data in the report must include at least one numeric measure and one sort field (By or Across). The Graph control is activated in the Selections panel or the OLAP Control Panel when these basic requirements are met.

The following image includes three sort fields (Store Name, Manufacturing Plant, and PRODCAT) and three numeric measures (Quantity, Our Cost, and Price), displayed as horizontal bar charts for quick comparison.

OLAP

You can request a graph from an OLAP report, from the Selections panel, or from the OLAP Control Panel:

If you choose to graph more than one measure, you can employ different graph types to suit the data in each column, with the following restrictions:

For details about supported combinations, see Combining Graph Styles and Measure Styles in OLAP Graphs.

Note: If drill-down capability has been enabled for the dimensions in a report, the same functionality is automatically enabled for graphs. You can drill down from one graphical representation of your data to another.


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Reference: Combining Graph Styles and Measure Styles in OLAP Graphs

The following table lists the available style combinations in the second column for each graph style in the first column.

Controlling Graph Style

Potential Measure Styles

Vertical Bar (default)

Vertical Bar (default)

Vertical Line

Vertical Area

Vertical Line

Vertical Line (default)

Vertical Bar

Vertical Area

Vertical Area

Vertical Area (default)

Vertical Bar

Vertical Line

Horizontal Bar

Horizontal Bar (default)

Horizontal Line

Horizontal Area

Horizontal Line

Horizontal Line (default)

Horizontal Bar

Horizontal Area

Horizontal Area

Horizontal Area (default)

Horizontal Line

Horizontal Area

Pie

Pie



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Procedure: How to Graph a Measure From the Selections Panel
  1. Click the down arrow to the left of the Graph control to open a drop-down pane containing all the numeric measures in the current report.

    There is a check box to the left of each measure and a graph button to the right of each measure. All check boxes are unchecked by default and all graph buttons are grayed (inactive) by default.

  2. Select a check box associated with a measure.

    The graph button to the right of the measure becomes active. The default graph style is Vertical bar.

  3. Toggle through the seven graph style icons until you reach the one you want to apply to the selected measure.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any other measures you want to graph.

    For a list of graph types that can be defined, see Combining Graph Styles and Measure Styles in OLAP Graphs.

  5. Click Run on the band below the Selections panel.

    The graph opens in a separate frame above the report and Selections panel.



Example: Graphing Multiple Measures From the Selections Panel

This example contains two measures, Balance and CANADA_DOLLAR, sorted by Continent. You would like to see graphical representations of both measures. To contrast the graphical information, you use a different graph type for each one.

  1. Run OLAPREP4.
  2. Right-click the Region field and select Delete from the menu to limit the report to the fields you want to graph (one dimension, Continent, and two measures, Balance and CANADA_DOLLAR).
  3. In the Selections panel above the report, click the arrow to the left of the Graph control to list the measures.
    • Click the Balance measure check box, then choose the vertical bar icon to the right of the measure. (This is the default graph type.)
    • Click the CANADA_DOLLAR measure check box, then toggle through the graph icons until you see the vertical area graph Graph icon for horizontal area.

    As shown in the following image, the Selections panel has the Graph control listing Balance represented as a vertical bar and CANADA_DOLLAR represented as a vertical area.

    OLAP

  4. Click Run on the band below the Selections panel to generate the graphs.

    The following image shows the results of the graph selections.

    OLAP


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Procedure: How to Create a Pie Chart From the Selections Panel
  1. Run OLAPREP2.

    The report shows order information for stores that sell electronic products from Century Corporation. Audio Expert shows the highest numbers, with orders of digital products significantly exceeding analog.

    You want a clearer picture of how the digital orders break down by product so you decide to create a pie chart.

  2. Click Digital for Audio Expert in Q2 to hone in on the data you want to graph.

    The report now shows the Quantity and Line Cost of Goods Sold for several digital products sold at Audio Expert in Q2, as shown in the following image.

  3. Right-click Quantity and choose Show Panel to open the Selections panel.
  4. In the Selections panel, click the arrow to the left of the Graph control, then click the check box for Quantity and toggle through the graph options until you reach the pie icon, as shown in the following image.

    OLAP Report 2, showing the pie graph icon selected for Quantity in the Graph control

  5. Click Run on the band below the Selections panel.

    As shown in the following image, the graph appears in a pane above the report. You can see at a glance that PDA Devices constituted about 1/3 of digital sales at the Audio Expert store in Q2.

    OLAP


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Procedure: How to Graph a Measure from the OLAP Control Panel
  1. Run OLAPREP4.
  2. Open the OLAP Control Panel.
  3. Select the Show Graph check box located below the Measures pane.

    Note that the contents of the Drill Down and Drill Across panes determine the X-axis fields. When there are multiple drill (X-axis) fields, multiple graphs appear vertically stacked in the same frame. The measures appear as Y-axis fields on the graphs you display.

  4. Click the Graph icon adjacent to the Show Graph check box.

    The Measures and Graph-Style pane opens.

    Check boxes associated with the available measures are checked by default.

  5. Click one of the seven icons at the bottom of the window to set a controlling graph style.
  6. Select the check boxes for the measures you wish to graph.

    The graph icon corresponding to the controlling graph style appears next to each selected measure.

  7. Click the icon next to a measure to choose a different graph style from the supported combinations, as shown in the following image.

    WebFOCUS OLAP Control Panel

  8. Click Ok to return to the main OLAP Control Panel window with all the graph settings retained.
  9. Click Run to display the graphs and the tabular report in a split window.

Note:


WebFOCUS