Controlling the Display of Measures in a Report

In this section:

While you cannot add new measures to an OLAP report without returning to the original report request, you can adjust the display of the measures in the report in several ways. You can:


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Stacking Measures

How to:

When you have more than one measure in an OLAP report, you can stack the measures in separate rows within the same column to reduce the width of the report.

You cannot apply data visualization bar graphs to stacked measures.



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Procedure: How to Display Stacked Measures
  1. Open the OLAP Control Panel.
  2. Select the Stack Measures check box to display measures in separate rows under one column.
  3. Click Run to execute your report.

Tip: To restore the standard display, deselect the Stack Measures check box and rerun the report.



Example: Displaying Stacked Measures
  1. Run OLAPREP4.

    Initially, this report is sorted vertically by Continent and Risk_Class and horizontally by Region, and the measures (Balance and CANADA_DOLLAR) appear as separate columns.

  2. For this example, you will not need the Region dimension, but you will need the Country dimension. You can quickly make these changes to the report:
    1. Right-click Region and select Delete from the menu.
    2. Right-click Continent and select Unhide from the menu, then select Country from the secondary menu.

      The report now displays data by Continent followed by Country, as shown in the following image.

      OLAP Report 4 with Region hidden, showing Continent followed by Country

      You wish to show the measure titles and data values in rows.

  3. Click the OLAP button on the band below the Selections panel to open the OLAP Control Panel.
  4. Click the Stack Measures check box below the Measures pane.
  5. Click Run to execute the report and display the titles and values of the measures stacked over each other in separate rows, as shown in the following image.

    OLAP Report 4 with measures stacked over each other


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Changing the Order of Measure Columns

How to:

You can change the order in which measure columns are presented in the report.



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Procedure: How to Reposition Measure Columns in an OLAP Report

To reposition a numeric column, drop the field into a new column position.

The cursor changes to a plus sign (+) to indicate acceptable places into which you can drop the field. (Unacceptable positions are indicated by a circle with a slash cross the center.)



Example: Repositioning Measure Columns
  1. Run OLAPREP2.

    As shown in the following image, the column for the Quantity measure precedes the column for the Line Cost of Goods Sold measure.

  2. To change the order of columns, drop Line Cost of Goods Sold before Quantity.

    The cursor changes to a plus sign (+) to designate where you can drop the field. The report, as shown in the following image, now displays Quantity as the last column.

    OLAP Report 2 with column moved


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Hiding and Displaying Measures

How to:

You can hide and expose measures from an OLAP report, the Selections panel, or the OLAP Control Panel.



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Procedure: How to Hide or Expose a Measure From the Report

Tip: If you want to add a new measure to the report, you must return to the original request and add the field there.



Example: Hiding and Exposing a Measure From the Report
  1. Run OLAPREP2.

    The report includes two measures: Quantity and Line Cost of Goods Sold.

  2. Right-click the Line Cost of Goods Sold and choose Hide from the menu, as shown in the following image.

    OLAP Report 2, showing Hide from drop-down menu

    Note: The options available may vary, depending on your OLAP format settings. For more information, see Setting OLAP Reporting Options.

    The report runs and displays only the Quantity measure.

  3. Right-click Quantity and select Unhide.

    A secondary menu displays the hidden measure.

  4. Select Line,Cost Of,Goods Sold to redisplay Line Cost of Goods Sold, as shown in the following image.

    OLAP Report 2, showing the Unhide menu option

    Note: The options available may vary, depending on your OLAP format settings. For more information, see Setting OLAP Reporting Options.

    The report now displays the Line Cost of Goods Sold column.



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Procedure: How to Hide or Display a Measure From the Selections Panel
  1. Click the down arrow to the left of the Measures control to display a list of the measures in the report.
  2. Click the check box next to a measure to display or hide it.

    The check box toggles through three positions:

    • Unchecked: To hide a measure, deselect its check box.
    • Checked: To expose a hidden measure, select its check box.
    • Graph: You can use the same check box to display a column of data visualization bar graphs for numeric measures. This setting is represented as a graph symbol in the check box. For details, see Visualizing Trends.


Example: Hiding and Exposing a Measure Column From the Selections Panel
  1. Run OLAPREP2.

    Because of the OLAP settings selected for this report, the Selections panel is hidden. For this example, you will need to expose it.

  2. Right-click QUARTER and select Show Panel from the menu.

    As shown in the following image, two measures (Quantity and Line Cost of Goods Sold) appear in the report.

    OLAP

  3. In the Selections panel, click the arrow to the left of the Measures control to list the measures in the report. Notice that both measures are checked.
  4. To hide Line Cost of Goods Sold, deselect the check box next to this field.
  5. Click Run on the band below the Selections panel.

    Only Quantity now appears, as shown in the following image.

    OLAP

  6. Open the Measures control again and recheck Line Cost of Goods Sold, as shown in the following image.

    OLAP

  7. Run the report again.

    The output now looks as it originally did.



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Procedure: How to Display or Hide a Measure from the OLAP Control Panel
  1. Open the OLAP Control Panel.
  2. In the Measures pane, click the check box next to a measure to display or hide it.

    The check box toggles through three positions:

    • Unchecked: To hide a measure, deselect its check box.
    • Checked: To expose a hidden measure, select its check box.
    • Graph: You can use the same check box to display a column of data visualization bar graphs for numeric measures. This setting is represented as a graph symbol in the check box. For details, see Visualizing Trends.
  3. Click Run to execute your report.

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