Dropdown Box
Definition
The dropdown box design item allows you to display and select contents in a dropdown box.
Use
You can specify the content of the dropdown box as follows:
● Dimensions for Filtering
You can use this dropdown box to filter a selected dimension. In the dropdown box properties, you configure the values for the dimension to appear in the dropdown list. When you then select a value from the dropdown box in analysis mode, the dimension is filtered by your selection, and the query results in the analysis grid are updated accordingly.
Since filtering is a function also provided in the navigation pane, you might not want to use a navigation pane in the same worksheet as a dropdown box. You might use the dropdown box if, for example, you do not want to offer the whole range of navigation functions that the navigation pane provides, but you want to be able to conveniently set filters. The checkbox group and radio button group design items provide similar functionality; however, the checkbox group allows you to select multiple filter values at once.
● Query View Selection
This dropdown box contains a list of the query views for the currently displayed query. In the dropdown box properties, you can select whether all query views saved for the query or only your query views are to be displayed in the dropdown list. When you select a query view from the dropdown box in analysis mode, the data displayed in the analysis grid is updated accordingly. You can navigate in the query view and save further query views for the query. If, during navigation, you want to restore the initial state of the selected query view, choose Back to Start in the context menu.
Structure
You configure the properties for the dropdown box on two different tab pages in the Dropdown Box Properties dialog box (see Inserting Design Items for more information about how to insert the dropdown box and access its properties):
● General – here you can configure the data providers and cell range.
● Filters – here you can select and configure dimensions or query views.
To add a dropdown box to the workbook, you must enable the Microsoft Excel Trust access to Visual Basic Project setting (by choosing Tools → Macro → Security → Trusted Publishers). If you omit this step, an Access to Visual Basic project failed error is displayed when you attempt to insert or access the dropdown box in analysis mode.
● Affected Data Provider – lets you select multiple data providers for which you want to apply a filter
Dropdown Box Properties
Property |
Description |
Name of Dropdown Box |
Displays the name of the dropdown box; the name is generated automatically and is unique. This name is used on the BEx Analyzer → Design Toolbar menu to refer to a particular instance of the dropdown box. |
Display Technical Names/Do Not Display Technical Names |
Use this button on any tab page to toggle the display of technical names. |
General Tab Page |
|
Data Provider |
Assign an existing data provider to the dropdown box, create and assign a new one, or change or delete a data provider. The initial view of a data provider corresponds to the query view. |
Area |
Edit the coordinates for a cell or cells in this field to move or resize the dropdown box. |
Filters Tab Page |
|
Filter |
Specify whether you want to display dimensions or query views for selection in the dropdown box. |
Display |
Specifies how the filter values are displayed in the list. Select from the following values: ● Text: Display the text ● Key: Display the technical key ● Key and Text: Display the technical key, followed by the text ● Text and Key: Display the text, followed by the technical key |
Maximum Number of Displayed Values |
Use this selector to specify the maximum number of values to be displayed in the dropdown box. |
Filter Tab Page: Properties for Dimensions |
|
Dimension |
Select the dimension you want to filter. |
Read Mode |
Specifies the method of retrieving the list of filter values: ● Posted Values (Q): Performs a SELECT on the fact table to list filter values that actually return data. Values that return no results when filtered are not displayed in the list. This calculation can be time-consuming, but yields only usable values in the list. ● Dimension Table (D): Performs a SELECT on the dimension table to retrieve the list of filter values. This calculation is less time consuming than that for Posted Values. The probability that results are returned is higher than with Master Data Table. ● Master Data Table (M): Returns all members of the selected dimension that appear in the master data table. Since InfoCubes can be sparsely populated, this returns many selections that show no results when filtered (No applicable data found), but the logic involved is simple and the performance is therefore optimal. |
Text Type |
Specifies which text type to display for the values of the dimension: ● Standard text: The longest available text is used to display the values. ● Short text: The short text is used to display the values. ● Medium text: The text of medium length is used to display the values. ● Long text: The long text is used to display the values. |
Display Label |
Select this indicator to display the name of the dimension to be filtered next to the dropdown box. |
Display ALL Entry |
Select this indicator to add an entry to the dropdown box with which you can reset the selected filter and display the values in the analysis grid unfiltered. |
Filter Tab Page: Properties for Query Views |
|
Own Query Views |
Select this indicator to display only those query views that you saved for the query. |
Affected Data Providers Tab Page |
|
Name of Affected Data Provider |
The query results of a data provider can be filtered by the value of a dimension for which a dropdown box is created. This filtering is not applied to other data providers within a workbook even though the same dimension is reused. This means that you need to create individual filters for the same dimension that is used in different data providers. However, the affected data provider feature allows you to simplify the above scenario. On this tab page, you can view all data providers that are used in the workbook. You can select the required or all data providers to apply the same filtering for specific or all data providers used in a workbook. |
More Information:
● Creating Planning Applications in the BEx Analyzer