Control Query for Pre-calculating Web Templates

Definition

A control query is a help query that you execute before you execute the queries in the Web template, and use the result to parameterize the Web template.

Use

You can specify a control query as significant information in the Reporting Agent settings for a Web template. When you specify a control query, the system does not pre-calculate the Web template itself, but a number of filtered views from the Web template.

We particularly recommend this procedure when wanting to calculate several Web templates only distinguished by their filter values in one swoop.

Using a control query in particular allows you to formulate complex selection criteria for the data to be pre-calculated.

Pre-calculate only the TOP50 customers, whose data is frequently requested, for example.

Structure

A very simple query, which contains exactly those characteristics in the drilldown in the rows according to which the Web template will be filtered, is particularly suitable as a control query. Every row in the table that a control query delivers, subsequently serves as a dynamic filter for the Web template views.

The respective combination of characteristic values is used as a filter for the Web templateData Provider for each table row. The background run produces pre-calculated data records, in actual fact one data record for each table row that delivers a control query.

If a characteristic does not appear in a view, the filter value is ignored.

In addition, you automatically get only those filter value combinations, for which data exists in the InfoCube used to define the control query.

Example

A typical application of this approach for pre-calculating a Web template is with cockpit applications, since they are controlled mainly through selection lists and no real OLAP navigation is necessary.

You can also use a control query for filtering when pre-calculating Crystal reports queries. You can find additional information underDefining Crystal Reports Queries Settings.