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Pentaho Analyzer

 

Parent article

Use Analyzer to create visualizations and analysis reports from your data. Analyzer has an easy-to-use, web-based, drag-and-drop design environment which can be used by anyone who wants to dynamically explore data and drill down to discover previously hidden details.

Before you can use Analyzer, you must have access to a data source. Only system administrators can create data sources. The data source for Analyzer is based on the Mondrian multidimensional data model. The Mondrian data model enables you to choose which dimensions and measures you want to explore in your data.

Get started with Pentaho Analyzer

 
Display and work with data in Analyzer through panels. For example, you can view and work with Steel Wheels data in the Analyzer panels by performing the following steps:

Procedure

  1. From the User Console Home page, click the Browse Files button. In the Browsing pane, click to expand the Public folder, then click to expand the Steel Wheels folder.

  2. In the center pane, double-click on European Sales. The Opened page appears with the Analyzer report. Click the Add More Fields and Rearrange Fields icons on the toolbar to expand the Available Fields and Layout panels.

    Getting started with Analyzer
    Item Name Function
    1 Opened view Displays quick access buttons across the top to create and save new Analyzer reports, Interactive Reports, and Dashboards. Opened reports and files show as a series of tabs across the page.
    2 Available Fields and Layout panels Use the Available Fields and Layout panels to drag levels and measures into a report.

    Your report displays changes in the Report Canvas as you drag items onto the Layout panel.

    Delete a level or measure from your report by dragging it from the Layout panel toward the lower right corner of the Report Canvas. As you drag it, a trash can icon appears in the lower right corner of the canvas.

    3 Report Canvas Shows a dynamic view of your report as you work to build it. The look of your report changes constantly as you work with Available Fields and Layout panels to refine it.

    The Report Canvas shows different fields based on the chart type selected.

    4 Analyzer Toolbar and Filters Use the Analyzer Toolbar functions to undo or redo actions, hide lists of fields, add or hide filters, disable the auto-refresh function, adjust settings, and change the view of your report.

    Use the Filters panel to display a list of filters applied to the active report, or edit or delete filters.

Creating Analyzer reports

 

Creating reports in Pentaho Analyzer allows you to easily compare data, such as the actual versus budgeted expenses by region for each of your departments, or the amount of sales by region. You can enhance your reports by adding visualizations and charts.

Create an Analyzer report

 
Pentaho Analyzer automatically fetches data in real time as you add and remove fields, so you may find it easier to build a report with the Auto Refresh feature turned off. Then you can design your report layout first, including calculations and filtering, without querying the database automatically after each change. Just click the auto refresh icon in the tool bar to toggle Auto Refresh on or off, or you can click the Refresh Report button at any time.

To create a new report, perform the following steps:

Procedure

  1. From User Console Home, click Create New, then Analysis Report.

  2. Choose a data source for the report from the Select Data Source dialog box, then click OK.

  3. From the Available Fields pane on the left, click and drag an object to the Rows or Columns area in the Layout panel.

    The data row or column appears in the table workspace.
    NoteYou can remove an object from a row or column by dragging it from the Layout panel back to the Available Fields list.
  4. In the list of fields, click and drag a measure to the Measures area in the Layout pane.

    The measure appears as a column in the table workspace.
  5. If you want to rename or reformat your columns, right-click a column and choose Column Name and Format from the menu.

    The Edit Column window appears.
    NoteYou can also sort the data in your columns by clicking and choosing a sort-order from the drop-down menu.
  6. Choose a format from the Format drop-down box, or choose a visualization from the drop-down menu. Click Refresh Report if you need to, then click OK.

  7. Click Save As. Type a file name for your report and choose a location to save it in, then click OK.

Results

The new Analyzer report is created and saved in a location of your choice.

View and edit Analyzer reports

 

When you open a report from the Analyzer, by default the report opens in view mode. Click the Edit (pencil) icon to edit the report.

If you do not see the Edit icon, contact your administrator.

Visualizations for Analyzer reports

 

After you have created an analysis report, you will most likely want to make the report more visually pleasing and meaningful for your audience. Analyzer has quite a few built-in visualizations that give you an effective means for presenting your data in a way that people can intuitively understand.

Learn more

Chart options for Analyzer reports

 

The Chart Options dialog box is available if you have a visualization applied to your report. Click Chart Options in the Properties panel to bring up the chart options for that report.

Learn more

Display the member properties of a field or level

 
When a number in parenthesis appears next to a dimension in a list of Available fields, that dimension is associated with specific member properties. You can use those properties to constrain dimensions. If you want to review available fields, click Add more fields onto the report on the report toolbar.

Perform the following steps to filter by member properties:

Procedure

  1. Locate a dimension in the Available fields list that includes a number in parenthesis, for example, Customer (6), or Product (3).

  2. Locate the corresponding dimension on your report. Right-click the row or column header for that dimension, then click Show Properties.

    A menu displays member properties you can choose.
  3. Select or clear the member property you want in the report, then click OK.

Results

Your analyzer report is filtered by the choices you made.

Adding filters to an Analyzer report

 

In Pentaho Analyzer, filters are used to restrict or limit data in a report, so you can build the report to show only the information that you want to view. For example, a typical report shows sales by product line. By applying a date filter on Quarter, you can restrict the data so that only sales for the one quarter are shown. If you add a string filter for Europe, the report would display data for the European sales that quarter. If you add a string filter on another field to exclude a product line, the report would display European sales data in that quarter minus the excluded product.

You can apply a filter by selecting it from a list, or you can choose a specific type of filter to refine the data the way you want:

Add filters to an Analyzer report

 
Use the following steps to add a filter to your report using the Select from a list option.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the User Console, then click Browse Files to browse to the location of your Analyzer report, or choose Create New New Analysis.

  2. Open the existing report. If creating a new report, select the data source that you want to use and click OK, and then enter the data dimensions for the report in the Layout panel.

  3. Click the Add A Filter icon.

    A workspace for filters appears near the top of the report.
  4. Drag a field or column into the filter workspace from the Available Fields pane.

    The Filter dialog box appears. The Select from a list option is selected by default.
  5. Click in the Currently field, and then select Included or Excluded from the drop-down menu to define how selections are filtered.

    Filter dialog box with the Select from a list option        selected.
  6. Select the value (or values) that you want to use in the Add Selected list and click the Arrow to move your selections into the right pane, or click the Double Arrow to move all the values.

    The value or values appear with a check mark in the right pane.Filter dialog box with values selected.
  7. After you have selected all the values that you need from the list, click OK to exit the dialog box. Your Analyzer report displays data for the chosen values only.

  8. Save your report. You can click Undo or Reset to return to the previous version of the report.

Filter on date levels

 

Date level filters allow you to use relative dates and date range operators to find a dynamic list of time periods. For example, if you want to view the sales for this quarter versus sales for the same quarter one year ago, then you can select the date filter and enter the respective dates.

Learn more

Filter on numeric levels

 

Numeric level filters allow you to use comparison operators to quickly find a group of dimension members. For example, if you have a 'Credit Limit' level in a customer dimension and you want to show sales only for customers with a credit limit greater than $50,000, then you can create a numeric filter, such as "Credit Limit > $50,000."

Learn more

Filter on string levels

 

String level filters allow you to use contain expressions to match similar dimension members. For example, if you have a 'Street' level in a customer dimension and you want to view all customer addresses with physical street locations, then you can create a string filter like "Street."

Learn more

Filter on measure values

 

Measure filters allow you to select dimension members based on each member's measure value. For example, if you have a 'Total Sales' level in a customer dimension and you want to view all customers with total sales greater than $10,000, then you can create a measure filter such as "Customers who have Total Sales > $10,000".

Learn more

Use fields in Analyzer

 

Analyzer uses fields and filters to format your report. You can think of a report as a file (like a spreadsheet file), except that when you open a report or make a change, the report connects to your database so it displays the latest data. Reports are stored in a repository, so you can access reports from any computer.

Learn more

Use measures in Analyzer

 

You can work with measures in several ways to accomplish tasks, such as renaming a measure, creating a calculated measure, and editing a calculated measure.

Learn more

Set Analyzer report options

 

You can modify how blank measures display, define drill-through columns, and show or hide totals for columns and rows. You can use the Report Options dialog box to change these options.

Learn more

Export an Analyzer report

 
You can export a report as a PDF, CSV, or an Excel Workbook file.

Procedure

  1. In the Analyzer toolbar, click More actions and options Export Report.

  2. Select an output format from the menu. The Export dialog box appears.

    If you are exporting to:
    • PDF

      Specify how you want the page formatted.

    • CSV

      Specify formatting options and the Separator character. The default separator is a comma (,).

    • Excel Workbook

      Specify how you want the workbook formatted. You can select or clear the Merge pivot table cells option.

      • Select this option to keep nested pivot row and column headers grouped together.
      • Clear this option to separate nested pivot headers to individual rows for easier sorting.
      NoteMaps are not supported for export to Excel.
  3. After specifying or modifying the export options, select one of the following actions:

    Done Saves any modifications to the export settings, but does not export.
    Export Applies the options and generates output. If your report includes a chart, it is included in the report along with the table view.
    Cancel Discards all changes.
  4. (Optional) If you want it to keep the export settings, you must Save the report.

Results

Metadata for report author, source file location, fields used and filter summary are included in the report.

Advanced topics

 

The following topics help to extend your knowledge of Analyzer beyond basic setup and use:

Troubleshooting

 

See our list of common problems and resolutions.

Learn more