Upgrade from SAP BusinessObjects 4.2 to 4.3
Overview
BusinessObjects (BO) is being upgraded to the latest version (BO 4.3 SP2) on 10 November 2024. This upgrade will impact all users of WorldShare Reports.
What will change?
- The look and feel of BusinessObjects is new.
- The new Instances tile provides a single place for viewing and managing scheduled reports.
- Reports can be marked as favorites and accessed from the home page.
What will not change?
- Existing Personal and Public folders are maintained.
- All current reports are still available.
- Existing scheduled reports will maintain their current schedule.
Before starting to run reports in the new BusinessObjects version
We recommend you perform the following steps in exact sequence.
- Click Log off in the top right corner of the BI Launch Pad to sign out of WorldShare Report Designer.
- Select Log Out from the unique name menu in the top right corner of WorldShare.
- Close all open browser windows.
- Clear your browser cache completely. For example, Chrome's default is seven days; please select All Time.
- Log back into WorldShare Report Designer and perform your tasks.
If you experience errors and have not cleared your cache, please do so before contacting OCLC Support.
BI Launch Pad
When Report Designer is launched, it opens on the Report Launch Pad. This page is designed to provide easy access to folders, reports, and the inbox.
The Report Launch Pad is divided into five screens, indicated by tabs at the top of the page:
- Home
- Favorites
- Recent Documents
- Recently Run (scheduled reports)
- Applications
Navigation
- Compare navigation with the current version - Image
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| Function | How to access in 4.2 | How to access in 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Folders | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad. Report Designer opens with the Documents screen and the Folders left navigation displayed by default. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad. The Folders screen opens by default. Click the Home button (  ) to access all of the other functions in BO 4.3. |
| Home | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad and then click the Home tab. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad and click the Home button () on the Folders screen. The Home screen provides tiles to access six screens, including the new Instances feature. Click a tile to access its contents. The table below maps how you currently access various Report Designer components compared with where you will access them in the upgraded Report Designer. |
| Documents | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad > Home button () > Documents. |
| Instances | N/A | New feature available in version 4.3 |
| Recycle Bin | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad > Recycle Bin. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad > Home button () > Recycle Bin. |
Favorites section
The Favorites section displays tiles to open reports and folders you have marked as favorites without navigating to their saved location. If you have more favorites than can be displayed on the Report Launch Pad, it displays the most recently accessed favorites and adds a link to view all of your favorites. The image below shows the new Favorites section in Report Designer. The icon and label on the tile indicate if it is a file or folder.
- View new Favorites section - Image
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Note: The Favorites section differs from the My Favorites folder in the current BusinessObjects. In 4.3, you will access your favorites by navigating to Home > Folders > Personal Folders.
- Compare My Favorites and Personal Folders - Image
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Recent Documents, Recently Run (scheduled reports), and Applications sections
The Recent Documents and Recently Run (scheduled reports) sections show documents you have recently accessed. Click a tile to open the document. The Applications section is where you launch Report Designer by clicking the Web Intelligence button.
If a section does not include any tiles, a message displays stating that no current items are available.
- Compare Recent Documents, Recently Run, and Applications sections with the current version - Image
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Design Mode Toolbar changes
The Design Toolbox has been streamlined for version 4.3. All design functionality is still available; however, aside from the most commonly used functions, you can access options from drop-down lists and More options buttons (
).
Compare toolbars
Report Elements functions are in the Insert section
The Insert section in the version 4.3 toolbar displays icons to insert tables, charts, and cells, along with an icon to insert a section. Click the More options button () to add shared and custom elements.
- Compare Report Elements functions with the current version - Image
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Data Access functions are in two places
The Data Providers functions in the version 4.3 toolbar display icons to select a new data provider, edit an existing query, purge the data of a current query, refresh the current queries, and change the source of your data in Design mode. Click the Add a New Variable button (
) to access data objects that allow you to create new variables.
- Compare Data Access functions with the current version - Image
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Analysis functions are in the Analyze section
The Analysis functions in the version 4.3 toolbar display icons to show/hide the filter bar and formula bar. Click the More options button () for options to drill down, show changes, track data changes, and access formatting rules.
- Compare Analysis functions with the current version - Image
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Page Setup functions are in two places
The Page Setup functions in version 4.3 are located in the Build side panel. Open the Build side panel, click the Appearance settings button, and then click the Display settings button or the Layout Settings button to adjust the page orientation, header, footer, margins and more. You can also click the drop-down list button for options to create a new report or a duplicate of the existing report, rename the report, or copy the link to the current report.
- Compare Page Setup functions with the current version - Image
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Formatting functions on a side panel
The Formatting functions in version 4.3 toolbar are located in the Build side panel. Click the Show report element format button (
) to display the buttons for Display Settings, Appearance Settings, and Layout Settings.
Note: The table and cell formatting options are also available by right-clicking on the element and using the contextual menu, which is the same as in the current Report Designer.
- Compare Formatting functions with the current version - Image
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Main Toolbar changes
The Main toolbar in version 4.3 has been simplified. As a result, some of the options are now only visible via drop-down lists and More options buttons ().
- The ability to save and export a report is in the File section of the Main toolbar.
- The option to refresh/run a report is located in the Query section.
- Compare the Main toolbar with the current version - Image
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Folder management features
Version 4.3 includes new options to make managing folders easier, while maintaining the same access structure. New features include:
- Breadcrumbs showing the folder hierarchy to aid in navigation.
- A More menu button () with options to view folder Properties, mark a folder as a favorite, get folder details, cut/copy the folder and delete the folder.
- A Create/Upload Objects menu that allows you to create subfolders.
The version 4.3 folder display is similar to the existing folder display, with the folder structure in the left-hand panel and the folder content in the main panel. Each folder listed in the main panel now has a More menu button () allowing you to easily perform actions on the folder.
- View the new folder features - Image
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When viewing a folder, breadcrumb navigation is provided at the top of the page. You can click on any of the parent folder links to open that folder. There is also a Create/Upload Objects menu and options for New Folder.
- View the new Create/Upload Objects menu - Image
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Managing open reports
Reports opened from the Report Launch Pad no longer open in separate Web Intelligence windows by default. Instead, they open within the current application window unless the user preferences change. Click the page header drop-down list to view the open documents. Click a document to open it, or click the X to close it.
A new feature in the page header drop-down list is the Pin the report button (
). Click the Pin the report button to pin a report in the page header drop-down list. After you pin a report, it will be accessible in the page header drop-down list every time you log in. To unpin a report, click the Unpin report button.
- Compare how open documents are accessed - Image
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Prompts window changes
The Prompts window that displays when running/refreshing a report that includes data prompts has a new look and feel. There is also a change in how data values are selected. Rather than moving values from one column to another, values are selected using checkboxes. This allows you to quickly select multiple values.
- Compare Prompts panels - Image
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User Prompt pane changes
The User Prompt pane, which allows users to pull different data into a report (e.g., change the date parameters), has been moved from the left side of the Report Designer UI to the right side under the Main side panel.
You can adjust prompt values by clicking the Refresh button.
- Compare User Prompt panes - Image
Input Control pane changes
The Input Controls pane, which allows users to quickly add or remove certain criteria from a report or change output, has been moved from the left side of the Report Designer UI to the right side under the Build side panel.
You can adjust report elements by clicking the Edit button.
- Compare Input Control panes - Image
Report scheduling changes
The interface for scheduling reports has been updated and enhanced with several new features. Scheduling options are now grouped under two menus:
- General - This menu contains the options for Instance Title, Recurrence, Events, Scheduling Server Group, and Destinations.
Note: To ensure that a file is delivered successfully via File System, select the Use default settings checkbox. - Report Features - This menu contains the options for Prompts, Formats, and Delivery Rules.
New features include the ability to select multiple destinations for your scheduled reports.
- Compare Scheduling interfaces - Image
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New instances feature for managing reports
A new Instances tile provides a single place for viewing and managing scheduled reports. It displays an overview of all scheduled reports and publications that you have run and provides their status. Within Instances, you are able to filter by date, instance status, document type, or title.
- View Instances screen - Image
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