Getting more from your PeopleSoft Reporting Tools

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Getting more from your PeopleSoft Reporting Tools
Larry Grey President Grey Sparling Solutions,
Inc Larry.Grey_at_GreySparling.com 1 (925)
217-1298
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Agenda

• Presenter Overview
• Tips and Techniques
• Drilling from your PeopleSoft Reports
• Managing your PeopleSoft Production Reporting
• Products
• nVision Drilling
• Report Distribution
• Report Explorer
• Questions

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More about the Presenter

• Larry Grey
• PeopleSoft Employee from 1994 - 2005
• Product Manager for Reporting Tools from 1996
  2005.
• Co-founder of Grey Sparling Solutions

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Who is Grey Sparling Solutions?

• We Enhance the PeopleSoft Experience
• Our Products
• Address common PeopleSoft needs.
• Leverage your existing PeopleSoft infrastructure.
• Enable functionality with minimal cost and effort

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More about the Founders

• PeopleSoft Tools and Technology Experts
• PeopleTools Developers, Product Strategists since
  1994
• Recognized by Oracle as the leading PeopleSoft
  technology experts
• Recognized by customers as leading Peoplesoft
  technology experts - More than 200 PeopleSoft
  conference presentations
• Industry Leaders in Reporting Best Practices
• Defined reporting solutions for PeopleSoft and
  NetSuite
• Extensive contacts among all key Business
  Intelligence Partners
• Architects of PeopleSoft EPM / Data Warehousing
  leading practices
• Visit our BLOG to read more PeopleSoft tips and
  techniques
• http//blog.greysparling.com
• The only PeopleSoft-related blog listed on
  Oracles blogroll (http//blogs.oracle.com/)

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Tips and Techniques
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Drilling From your Reports
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Drilling from your Reports

• Capturing URLs to use
• Embedding URLs into your reports

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Capturing Pages

• Open Page
• Copy URL

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Capturing Pages

• Note you may need to append ActionU if the
  default action of a page is Add.

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Capturing Queries

• Go to Query Viewer
• Search for Query
• Right-Click to Copy from link for query
• Run to HTML
• Run to Excel

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Adding Parameters to Query

• Find the different parameters on the Query
• Add the a BIND reference for each parameter

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Embedding URLs into nVision Reports

• Open Report with Data in it
• Use Hyperlink Function
• Replace Parameters with cellref

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Embedding URLs into Queries

• Open Query with Data in it
• Create SQL Expression in Query

• Use CONCAT TRIMSUBSTR to embed fields from
  query into parameters
• Add Expression as Field in Query

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Embedding URLs into Crystal

• Use Query with Hyperlinks Embedded in it.
• Set Hyperlink in Crystal (Field Property)

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Managing Production Reporting
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Managing Production Reporting

• Setting up nVision Jobstreams to run many reports
  together
• After data staging processes
• Stand-alone
• Setting up Query and Crystal Jobstreams
• After data staging processes
• Stand-alone
• XML Publisher

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Overall Approach for this

• Step 1 Create Run Control or Report Requests
• Step 2 Create Job Definitions that refer to
  process definitions
• Step 3 Schedule Jobset to identify the
  parameters

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Process for Crystal and SQR

• Each process definition identifies a unique
  report to run
• APY2020
• FIN0011
• FIN5005
• Job items are tied to specific reports

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Process for nVision and Query

• Each process definition does not identify a
  unique report to run
• NVSRUN
• RPTBOOK
• PSQUERY
• Jobs are not tied to specific reports (they are
  placeholders for parameters)
• Schedule definition provides the parameter that
  identifies the report to run

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Setting up nVision Jobstreams

• Two Approaches
• nVision Report Books
• nVision Report Requests
• Differences are the paramters to supply and
  granular control over processing
• Parallel
• Serial

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Setting up nVision Job (example)

• All steps of job are same process name
• Jobs are not tied to specific reports
• (parameters to be specified in Schedule Jobset)

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Scheduling Specific Report Requests using
Schedule Jobset

• Click on Jobset Parameters
• Fill in Parameters needed for Process Definition

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SuperCharging your PeopleSoft Application
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Product Approach
Powerful
Low Adoption Risk

No Modification Of Delivered Code
Re-Use PeopleSoft APIs and Logic
CorePeopleSoft Functionality
Easy to Use And Deploy
Highly Supportable
Built-in Diagnostics and management
Highly Configurable
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Reporting Products
Initial Product Focus
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Other Products
Initial Product Focus
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Report Explorer
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Finding the Information you Need
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Overloaded with Information
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Features

• Indexing of report content
• Report Explorer UI
• Section Configuration

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Indexing of Report Content
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Capturing Report Information
GS Report Indexing
Report is Generated
Report is Stored
GS Report Metadata Repository
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Report Manager

• Limited information available to organize reports
• Description of process definition assigned at
  run-time
• Folder assigned at run-time
• Process Instance
• Process Type
• Date/Time run

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Report Explorer

• Information indexed from reports as posted to
  report repository
• Records and fields used in report
• Field values and tree nodes represented in report
• Runtime parameters for report
• Additional attributes of report (timespan, scope,
  as of date)
• Information used for rich user experience
• Search
• Categorization of similar reports
• Description of reports
• Capture of who is accessing what reports

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Report Explorer UI
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Report Explorer UI

• Recent Reports
• Report Explorer Sections
• Drilling
• Search
• Rich search results
• Favorites

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Section Configuration
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Section Configuration

• Subdivide report explorer into multiple
  high-level categories
• Filter sections based on report content
• Data sources
• Fields used
• Values/Tree nodes represented by data
• Define drill paths that leverage terms familiar
  to users
• Drill through levels of trees (e.g. Sales
  Territory Tree)
• Drill through values in a descriptive table (e.g.
  Ledger definition)

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nVision Drill Snapon
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Features

• Excel Drill Menu
• Auto-Drill
• Drill to Page
• Drill to PS/Query
• Menu Configuration

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Excel Drill Menu
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Auto-Drill
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Drill to Page
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Drill to PS/Query
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Menu Configuration
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Report Security and Distribution
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Report Distribution, Management and Control
PeopleSoftSolutionsExtender
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PSFT Delivered Reporting Security
Manually Specified
Requires Customization
PSFT Database
Filter Data
Route Results
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GS Definitional Reporting Security
Definitional Security Rules
PSFT Database
Filter Data
Route Results
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Grey Sparling Desktop Single Signon

• Snap-on to PeopleSoft Applications
• Automatically Signs into PeopleSoft Application

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Features

• Seamless User Access to Application
• Online Pages
• Workflow
• Reports
• Ease of Installation, Configuration, and
  Administration
• Cross-browser Report

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Other Sign On Options

• Extranet
• Client/Server
• Coming in next release
• Support for
• PS/Query
• PS/nVision
• Crystal Reports Designer
• Application Designer

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How to get nVision Context Helper

• Business Card or Email us at
• PHRUG.nVision_at_GreySparling.com

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Questions?