Model Forms
Forms can be created for gathering user data input and for reporting off a Model. You can think of creating a Form as being similar to PivotTable creation in Excel, except with greater flexibility to get the particular view you want.
You can create a Form by clicking on the Add button within the Forms node. Once you create a new Form, navigate to it from the navigation pane.
For a new Form, you start with a blank canvas. This canvas region will be used to render and format the Form. Before we can do that, we’ll need to define its structure by selecting the Layout tab.
Note: Click on the Edit Form button to begin editing. Only Forms that are in edit mode will be saved to the server.
At any time, you can click on the top-right corner (right below the user name) to collapse the navigation pane. This will give you more space on the working pane, which can help when creating large Forms.
Form Layout
The general layout of a Form contains the following placement for row, column, and filter axis.
In the Layout tab of the Kepion Form Design you can choose different Model Hierarchies and decide where they map on the axis.
Hide: You can choose to hide the members of a dimension by checking the Hide option. This will cause those members to not show up on the Form, but will still be used to define the Form’s structure.
Reverse: The Reverse option can be selected to reverse the order of parent members from top to bottom. This is particularly useful for financial Forms where aggregations are shown on the bottom.
Filter Variable: The filter variable option is enabled when a hierarchy is used on row or column axis, and provides a method of injecting members onto the axis based on filter selection.
Structure Mode: There is a mode for spreadsheet if you would like to view the Form without any row, column, and filters defined. To select this mode, change the drop-down selection for Structure mode from Form to Spreadsheet.
After mapping the hierarchies to the axis, you can then select the ROW, COLUMN, and FILTER tabs to define the specific members to include.
Row/Column Axis
The Row/Column axis tab is used to define the members along the row axis of the Form. The control is organized into three sections:
- A section to explore and find dimension members.
- A section to view and organize the selected members on the axis.
- An action section for member selection choices.
The actions selection has the following actions, in the order of display from left to right:
Single: Add the selected member to the axis definition.
Children: Add the selected member’s children to the axis definition. The member will be denoted with a (C) to indicate member children.
All: Add the selected member’s descendants to the axis definition. The member will be denoted with a (A) to indicate member descendants.
Leaves: Add the selected member’s leaves, which are the lowest level members starting from the select member as the root. The member will be denoted with (L) to indicate member leaves.
Range: Add a range of members for the current model dimension selection. Clicking range will open a Range Picker window with which you can use to define your range. Range is useful for defining a time span by specifying start period and an end period.
Variable: Add a variable for the current Model Dimension selection. The Variable Picker window will appear for you to select the variable to include. There are two types of variables, an Application Variable and a Filter Variable. You can use an Application Variable directly in a row or column axis definition. The Filter Variable option is available if the currently selected dimension has Filter Variable enabled. A Filter Variable will be shown in the Form of $[dimension].[hierarchy].
A Filter Variable is composed of two parts, the filter part and the definition part. The filter part is exposed as a regular filter on the Form from which the user can choose. Based on the selection, the value is dynamically injected into the row or column axis definition. The Filter Variable is useful whenever you want to change the definition on the row or column axis dynamically based on user selection of filter.
Set: Add a set to the current Model Dimension selection. The set can contain one or more members in the order of selection. The Select Member window will appear when the Set button is clicked.
Headers: Add custom headers for display.
Axis: Add members from existing Form's axis definition. Useful when you already have a definition defined on another Form and you want to quickly bring that definition into the current Form. The Existing Axis Members window will open when you click on Axis.
To organize the members along the axis, check each member’s checkbox and use the following actions:
Move Up: Move the checked items up.
Move Down: Move the checked items down.
Copy: Copy the checked items and add to the bottom of the axis definition.
Remove: Remove the checked items from the axis definition.
Check/Uncheck: When there are no items checked this action will check all items. When there are items checked this action will uncheck all items.
Cross Join: When selecting member across multiple dimensions on the axis, it is important to note the members that sit along the same row as this will determine how the axis will render when cross join is turned on. The figure below is an example of two members selected for the row axis for two dimensions. Notice the rendering difference when cross join is enabled compared to when it is disabled.
Reordering Hierarchies
You can reorder the hierarchies on both the row and column axis definition. Reordering the hierarchies will generate different MDX and give you a different grouping of members on the axis. To reorder the hierarchy on the axis definition, drag and move the column header for the hierarchy left and right of another hierarchy column. The example below shows the Scenario hierarchy being dragged to the left of Fiscal Calendar.
Filter Definition
The filter axis tab is used to define filter behavior on the Form.
Ordering Filters: You can choose to reorder the filter by using the UP and DOWN
button from the filter grid. This will determine the order in which the filters appear on the Form. The topmost filter will be displayed first from left to right on the Form.
Header Display: By default it shows the hierarchy name for the filter header. This region is enabled for input where you can override the default header.
Default Member: For each filter, you can set a default starting member. It is recommended to default each member to the lowest member within a hierarchy to give better performance when the Form is first opened.
There are three types of default members you can set:
1. Default Member
This is the default setting. You can pick a default member from the member list by clicking the icon and selecting from the list.
2. Custom Member
Click on the settings icon and select Custom Member. You can enter any display text in this field, such as “Please select…”
3. Member Variable
Click on the settings icon and select Member Variable. You can select from the available member variables that have been defined in the application. Please refer to the “Member Variable” section for more information on defining member variables.
Read Only: Filters can also be set to read only mode. When a filter is set to read only, users will not be allowed to change the value of the filter.
Select Multiple: Determine whether this filter allows selecting multiple members at a time.
Auto Refresh: When checked, the Form will be automatically refreshed every time the filter selection is changed.
Level Mode: With Level Mode enabled, the filter will provide each level of a Level Hierarchy as members to select. This is useful in conjunction with a Filter Variable as you allow the user to view different granularity on rows and columns based on selection of this filter.
Expand All: When checked, the filter will open in fully expanded mode.
Scope: A filter can contain a set. Only members from that set will be allowed for selection by end users.
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