Broadcast by E-Mail (Bursting) 

Use

The distribution type Broadcast E-Mail (Bursting) allows you to broadcast BI objects (queries, query views, Web templates, reports, or workbooks) as precalculated documents or online links by email to recipients that you determine on the basis of master data. If you have maintained the addresses of the recipients in the master data, you can select a characteristic in whose attributes the e-mail addresses or the BI user names are maintained, and the system can determine the recipients from this information. This type of distribution is known as bursting.

If required, you can also specify that the document is to be filtered for each recipient by their relevant characteristic values. If you choose to do this, the selected characteristic that you want to broadcast must be contained in the BI object. Every recipient then receives the document with the values that correspond to his or her area. For example, you can define the broadcast setting so that the monthly sales report is sent to all the branch managers. Every branch manager receives the sales report with the sales data from his or her branch.

Prerequisites

You have chosen the distribution type Broadcast E-Mail (Bursting) and chosen the required output format.

Features

Make settings on the following tab pages for the master data-based broadcast as e-mail (bursting):

Recipient Determination

You specify the characteristic to determine the recipients and define the characteristic values for each one of which an e-mail recipient is to be determined. 

Characteristic for Recipient Determination

To determine the recipient, choose the characteristic with which the recipient is to be determined, and the attribute for which the recipient is maintained. 

●      Send Unchanged Document

The document is not adapted to suit the recipient.

Enter the technical name of the required characteristic for which the recipient is maintained as an attribute either manually or by choosing  Selection. The characteristic can be any characteristic in your BI system and does not have to be contained in the BI object that you want to distribute.

●      Filter Document by Characteristic Value

The document is filtered by the characteristic value with which the recipient is identified. Each recipient receives the document filtered by the relevant characteristic values.

Choose the required characteristic for which the recipient is maintained as an attribute. You can select from those characteristics that are included in the query or Data Provider of the Web Application or the report.

With workbooks, you cannot filter the document by characteristic values.

●      Generate Document with Variable Value

The characteristic value used to determine the recipient is used as a variable entry when the document is generated.

Select the variable you want to use. You can select from those characteristic value variables that are included in the query or Data Provider of the Web Application, the report, or the workbook.

The system only displays this setting if the BI object (query, Web template, report, or workbook) contains characteristic values.

●      Attribute for Recipient Determination

Choose the attribute for which the recipient is maintained. Under Attribute Value Is, specify whether the recipient is to be identified using the e-mail address or the user name.

Selecting Characteristic Values

You specify the characteristic values here for which an e-mail recipient is to be determined.

If you do not make a selection here, an error message is displayed. This makes sure that the broadcast setting cannot be sent by accident for all characteristic values.

You can create the selection of characteristic values as a list or specify them using a control query:

●      Using Following Selection

Under Create Selection, specify the characteristic values for each of which an e-mail recipient is to be determined.

●      Using a Control Query

Under Control Query, specify the query you want from which the characteristic values are selected, either manually or by choosing  Selection. A document is calculated and broadcast for each characteristic value of the selected characteristic.

Under Variant you can select an existing variant for a query. Variables of the query that are ready for input can then by filled with values.

User/Language

On the User/Language tab page you can determine for the background processing of the broadcast setting the language, authorizations and user-specific settings with which the scheduled document is to be generated.

For more information, see User/Language.

Texts

You can specify values for the following:

●      Subject: Enter a subject line for the e-mail manually or use a text variable by choosing  with the quick info text Attach Text Variable. The text can contain up to 50 characters.

●      Importance: Select the importance level for the e-mail (low, medium, high).

●      Contents: Enter text for the contents of the e-mail manually or use a text variable by choosing  with the quick info text Attach Text Variable. When online links are sent, the system automatically adds a link to the text of the e-mail if the text does not contain the link using the PR_ONLINE_LINK variable.

For more information, see Use of Text Variables.

Precalculation/General Link Generation

If you have chosen a file in a particular format (HTML or PDF, for example) as the output format, you can make various settings on the General Precalculation tab page.

If you have selected an online link as the output format, the settings options on the General Link Generation tab page are available to you.

You make various settings here relating to, for example, variables or exceptions.

For more information, see General Settings for Precalculation and the Creation of Links.

Filter Navigation

On the Filter Navigation tab page you can specify characteristics or a control query so that the system precalculates several documents with different filter settings from the same BI objects (query, Web template and so on).

This tab page is not necessary with the Online Link to Current Data output format, and therefore is not displayed.

For more information, see Filter Navigation.