E21 Analytics Users Guide - tgiltd.com

E21 Analytics Users Guide

Table of Contents Installation .................................................................................................................................................... 3

Getting Started .............................................................................................................................................. 4

E21 Analytics Navigation & Menus ............................................................................................................... 5

E21 Analytics Security ................................................................................................................................... 6

Using E21 Analytics Widgets ......................................................................................................................... 7

Using E21 Analytics Dashboards ............................................................................................................... 8

Using E21 Analytics Charts ...................................................................................................................... 11

Using E21 Analytics Pivot Grids ............................................................................................................... 14

Pivot Grid Panels ................................................................................................................................. 19

Using E21 Analytics Gauges .................................................................................................................... 21

Building / Editing E21 Analytics Widgets .................................................................................................... 23

Using the Dashboard Builder .................................................................................................................. 24

Using the Pivot Grid Builder .................................................................................................................... 29

Using the Chart Builder ........................................................................................................................... 36

General Charting Concepts & E21 Analytics Chart Terminology ........................................................ 36

Using the Chart Builder ....................................................................................................................... 37

Using the Chart Builder - Display Chart w/Setup Options Tab ........................................................... 38

Using the Chart Builder - Display Chart w/Appearance Options Tab ................................................. 44

Using the Chart Builder – Miscellaneous Settings & Links .................................................................. 47

Using the Gauge Builder ......................................................................................................................... 48

E21 Analytics Datasets ................................................................................................................................ 49

E21 Analytics Datasets: Sales ................................................................................................................ 50

E21Analytics Datasets: AR ...................................................................................................................... 53

E21Analytics Datasets: Inventory........................................................................................................... 55

E21 Integration............................................................................................................................................ 57

Setting up the default E21 Analytics domain within E21 ........................................................................ 57

Open E21 Analytics dashboard(s) upon E21 login .................................................................................. 58

Open E21 Analytics widgets from E21 menus ........................................................................................ 59

2

Add E21 Analytics menus to favorites .................................................................................................... 59

Open (filtered) widgets from navigator options ..................................................................................... 60

Open (filtered) dashboard widgets from navigator options ................................................................... 61

3

Installation E21 Analytics is available to all TGI customers as a means of analyzing your company data, allowing

managers to combine existing decision making processes with in-depth data analysis, allowing you to

make the most informed business decisions possible.

E21 Analytics is designed to be backwards-compatible with E21 versions 7.2 and above. Prior to initial

use, E21Anlytics software and supporting datasets must be installed and configured by TGI personnel.

TGI customers should fill out the E21 Analytics Implementation Questionnaire prior to installation so

that the system can be properly configured to best suite your needs.

For TGI customers using E21 versions 7.2, or 8.0, an E21 modification will be required prior to use so that

the E21 Analytics support toolset is available within your system. This toolset comes standard in all E21

releases 8.1 and above.

System Requirements

Hardware: 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; Min: 1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM

(64-bit), (4GB RAM suggested); 2+GB available disk space; Virtualization is permitted. Please refer to

your applicable OS documentation for additional minimum and suggested hardware requirements.

OS: Windows Server 2012 / Windows Server 2008 R2 / Windows Server 2008 / Windows Server 2003 /

Windows 7;

Web Server Software: Microsoft IIS versions 7.0 / 7.5 with the latest service packs. Services for

ASP.NET extensions should be enabled; .Net40 Framework should be installed

(http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17851).

Secure Sockets (SSL) optional: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732367(v=ws.10).aspx

The server should have network access to the E21 back-end database. Minimum suggested memory is

1GB; however maximizing memory is suggested for performance gains. When making E21 Analytics

available over the internet, the web server should be isolated in a DMZ for security purposes. When not

allowing access over the internet, the server can be any workstation on the company intranet (including

the E21 App Server).

E21 Analytics is limited to customers using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and above for their E21 back-end

data.

The client portion of E21 Analytics will run on any device running a modern browser including (but not

limited to) PC’s, Mac’s, smart phone’s and tablets. Use of IE10, Firefox, Chrome or Safari browsers is

recommended. Due to bugs which affect the E21 Analytics menus in some older builds of Internet

Explorer, we suggest upgrading to the latest version of IE for your device before using E21 Analytics in

that environment.

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1124648/E21-Analytics-Customer-Questionnaire

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732367(v=ws.10).aspx

4

Getting Started Once E21 Analytics has been implemented, you will be supplied with a company specific URL to access

your E21 Analytics system from a browser. If your E21 Analytics Server was setup to be accessible from

the Internet, you can use this URL from any connected device. If it is limited to devices behind your

firewall, connect your device to your company intranet to gain access.

Enter the URL in your browsers address bar to open the E21 Analytics Sign-In Page. Each user will need

login credentials to enter the site. Note that on the E21 Analytics sign-in page, the associated E21 Back-

End Database will be displayed.

If you do not have a login to the E21 Analytics system, contact your system administrator.

If you check the “Keep me signed in” checkbox, you will not have to sign-in the next time you enter the

site on the same device.

5

E21 Analytics Navigation & Menus Once you have logged into the system you will see the E21 Analytics menus. Similar to the menus in

E21, E21 Analytics is organized by module (Sales, Receivable, etc). Each E21 Analytics module contains

sub-menus for Dashboards, Pivot Grids, Charts, & Gauges.

Under each of these sub-menus are module-specific, user defined options. These custom charts,

gauges, etc. are called “widgets.” Click the widget name in the menu to open the appropriate widget

page.

In addition to the Dashboard & module menus, when you are viewing individual E21 Analytics widget

pages you will also see a “Tools” option in the main menu. The Tools sub-menus allow you to perform

actions specific to the widget type you are viewing, such as printing charts or exporting pivot grid data to

spreadsheets. See the individual widget descriptions below for the distinct tools sub-menu options

available within each E21 Analytics widget type.

6

E21 Analytics Security There are 2 distinct types of security built into E21 Analytics. The first is at the menu level and defines

which modules or widgets a user (or group) has access to. The second type of security is system-wide

and determines whether a user has administrative rights. Only administrators can build, edit or delete

E21 Analytics widgets. Users without admin rights (View Only Mode) can access and use all of the

features available within an E21 Analytics widget, but they cannot modify them. User security is

maintained within E21 in the E21 Analytics Login Maintenance & E21 Analytics Menu Security screens.

Security is defined by user or group at the module or widget level (red), and universally throughout the

system via the user’s admin flag (blue). A user will never see the menu option s/ links they do not have

permissions for.

7

Using E21 Analytics Widgets There are 4 types of widgets within E21 Analytics: Dashboards, Pivot Grids, Charts, and Gauges. E21

Analytics is installed with a limited number of pre-built widgets for each module; however, you can

create an unlimited number of user-defined custom widgets.

For more information of creating E21 Analytics widgets, see the section entitled “Building / Editing E21

Analytics Widgets.” This section of the help is specific to showing the features of E21 Analytics widgets

for end-users.

8

Using E21 Analytics Dashboards Dashboards are pages which allow users to view multiple E21 Analytics widgets simultaneously,

providing quick access to an array of information. They are meant to give users a broad overview of

their company or department, and the individual widgets displayed can be used as “jump-off points” to

drill deeper into areas of interest or concern.

There are 2 different types of dashboard within E21 Analytics: The “Home Dashboard,” and “Module

Dashboards.”

The Home Dashboard is the first screen a user sees when they log into the system. Home Dashboards

are the only Dashboards within E21 Analytics that can contain widgets from each module in E21

Analytics. There can be up to 100 Home Dashboards created within the system; however each user will

only have access to a single home dashboard during any E21 Analytics session. A users Home Dashboard

is assigned within E21 in the E21 Analytics Login Maintenance screen

As their name indicates, Module Dashboards are located within the individual modules in the system

(Sales, Receivables, etc). You can create an unlimited number of Module Dashboards, but these module

dashboards can only contain widgets (pivot grids, charts or gauges) from within their own module. In

other words, a “Sales” dashboard can only contain other widgets from within the Sales module; a

“Receivables” dashboard can only contain other widgets from within the Receivables module, etc.

9

Once a dashboard has been created, there are numerous features which are available to users for

dashboard customization.

Dashboard Splitters: Depending on the layout that has been used in the dashboard creation, there may

be up to 3 splitters on your dashboard (up to 2 horizontal and 1 vertical) which allow you resize and

even hide (collapse) individual dashboard zones. This allows you to show / hide only the information

that’s pertinent to you, and also allows you to customize your dashboard based on the device you are

using. Once you resize the dashboard to your liking, the system will remember your setting (by device)

so that layout is used each time you load that particular dashboard. Left-click anywhere on a dashboard

splitter “bar” (the thin blue bar that separates the widgets) and drag the bar to resize. Click the small

arrow icons on the dashboard splitter bars to fully expand / collapse the individual splitter zones.

Custom Setup Icons: There are many cases where resizing a widget to fit within a dashboard layout

compromises the usefulness of the widget. In most of these cases, the widget can be altered (removing

labels, moving legend position, etc) so that they work better in a dashboard environment.

Within the header section of each dashboard widget is a setup icon which administrators can use to

customize how the applicable widget will display within the dashboard (View-Only users will not see

these icons). Note that these Custom Dashboard settings are specific to the current dashboard, so a

single widget can be setup to display differently from one dashboard to the next.

The custom setting available for charts are as follows: Chart Size, Legend Position, Show Point Labels,

Show Legend, and Show Mouse-Over Labels (2D only). The custom setting available for Pivot Grids are

as follows: Rows per Page. There are no custom settings available for Gauges at this time.

Additional Detail Links: In addition to being resized, some of the features of the individual widgets

displayed within dashboards are limited due to size restraints. Within the footer section of each

dashboard widget is a link with the caption “Click for additional detail.” Use this link to redirect E21

Analytics to the full version of the applicable widget allowing for full-size viewing, filtering, hot link

access, etc.

Drag and Drop “Dock Zones”: Each widget within a dashboard can be moved into any of the other

available panels. To move widgets: Right-click on the widget header and drag the widget into one of

the other layout “Dock Zones.” When hovering the widget over a valid “Dock Zone,” a blue “docking

10

area” will appear. Place the widget anywhere within the blue docking area and release your mouse

button. The widget will realign and resize itself to fit perfectly in its new location. Please note that

unless you are an administrator in “Edit Mode,” the dashboard will revert back to its original design the

next time you load the page.

Pictured Below: When moving widgets within dashboards, a blue “Dock Zone” will appear when the

widget is placed over a valid docking area. Releasing the widget anywhere within the Dock Zone will

cause the widget to align and resize itself in the new location.

11

Using E21 Analytics Charts Charts allow for a graphical representation of data which allows for quick interpretation of large

amounts of information. E21 Analytics currently generates 7 distinct chart types: Area, Bar, Doughnut,

Funnel, Line, Pie, and Point Charts.

Here are some of the features available to users within E21 Analytics Charts:

Filter Fields: E21 Analytics charts are created based on the numeric data (measures) returned from the

associated dataset and drawn based on the assigned X-axis and Series fields. Additionally, charts may

also have “filter fields” which will allow users to filter the resulting data further. To filter E21 Analytics

charts, click the dropdown of the available filter fields, check the applicable filter field records

(customers, products, etc), and click the apply button. The chart will be redrawn filtering the resulting

data based on the original chart criteria plus your user defined filters. Note: Filter fields are only

available if turned on within the chart builder.

Measure Selector: E21 Analytics charts are created based on the numeric data (measures) returned

from the associated dataset and drawn based on the assigned X-axis and Series fields. Additionally, the

creator of the chart has the ability to turn on a “measure selector” which will allow users to alter the

numeric data that is displayed within the chart. To change the measure(s) displayed, click the dropdown

labeled “Measure,” select the applicable measure field(s), and click the apply button. The chart will be

redrawn using your selected measure(s). Note: The Measure Selector is only available if turned on

within the chart builder.

Hot Links: E21 Analytics charts each have the ability to quickly link to other E21 Analytics widgets within

the same module. Typically the “Hot Links” are used to either open other similar widgets or to drill into

more specific information. Note: Hot Links are only available if turned on within the chart builder.

Administration Links: Administrators have the ability to edit, delete or copy all E21 Analytics charts. All

changes made via these links are universal (editing a chart will change it for all users) so use these

features with caution. Note: Administrative rights are maintained within E21 in the E21 Analytics Login

Maintenance screen.

Pictured Below: Filter Fields (Red); Measure Selector (Blue); Hot Link (Green); Administrative Links

(Yellow);

12

Filtered-By Label: The Filtered-By label is the red text displayed under each chart which displays all field

filters (both those designed in the chart builder and also assigned by the user via the Filter Field) used

when selecting the displayed charts underlying data.

Chart Information: At the bottom of each chart you will find additional chart information, including the

chart’s title, long description, and also all SQL connection and dataset information used to select the

chart’s underlying data.

Chart “Tools Menu” Options: When viewing individual E21 Analytics charts, a new “Tools” menu

option will appear within the E21 Analytics Main Menu. Use the available chart tool links to: Print your

chart; Export your chart to either PNG or PDF formats; Display the underlying SQL used to select the

data that is used to generate your chart.

14

Using E21 Analytics Pivot Grids Pivot Grids display data in tabular form and allow end users to slice and dice data in a manner similar to

other popular spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. Additionally, they also allow users to easily

change a report's layout visually in order to examine data from different/multiple perspectives. Fields

are visually represented by field headers, which can be moved between the pivot grid's row, column,

filter & data areas using drag-and-drop. Dragging fields between areas allows you to reorganize the

data and present it in various forms and hierarchies. Data can also be sorted and filtered, and there are

numerous inherent functions such as rankings, variance reporting, date comparisons (YTD, QTD & MTD)

and much more which all allow for in-depth business analysis.

Before using E21 Analytics Pivot Grids, it is important to understand a few basic principles & terms:

Dimension Fields: Dimension fields contain descriptive information (Products, Customers, etc) and are typically text fields or discrete numbers that behave like text (years for example). These fields are designed to serve two critical purposes: filtering the resulting data, and row / column assignment. Dimensions used by a pivot grid can reside in either the filter, column or row “header areas.” Dragging fields between the Pivot Grid header areas modifies the layout of the report.

Measure (Data) Fields: A measure field is used to summarize the data (dollars, quantities, etc) based on

the selected dimension field layout and filtering. Measure fields MUST be numeric data types. The

measure fields to display in the Pivot Grid must be placed in the Pivot Grid Data Header Area.

Filter Header Toolbar Area: The Filter Header Toolbar Area contains all visible field filters available to

the user, but not placed in the row or column header areas. These fields can still be used to filter the

resulting data without having any results being displayed in the Pivot Grid Data Area.

Data Header Toolbar Area Position measure fields within the Data Header Toolbar Area to calculate

summary information within the Pivot Grid’s Data Area. The summaries will be calculated for each

Column / Row within the Pivot Grid table.

Column Header Toolbar Area: Position dimension fields within the Column Header Toolbar Area to list

its values along the Pivot Grid’s top edge. This field's values will represent the Pivot Grids column

headers;

Row Header Toolbar Area: Position dimension fields within the Row Header Toolbar Area to list its

values along the Pivot Grid’s left edge. This field's values will represent the Pivot Grids row headers;

http://documentation.devexpress.com/AspNet/CustomDocument3588.aspx



15

Data Area: The “body” of the pivot grid where all column and row summary data is displayed based on

the arrangement of all fields within the Pivot Grids Header area’s.

Pictured below: The Filter Header Area (Blue) containing multiple dimension headers; The Data Header

Area (Green) containing a single “Line Count” measure; The Column Header Area (Yellow); The Row

Header Area (Red); The Data Area displaying the summarized measure information (Purple);

Field Drop Area Icons: To arrange fields within the Pivot Grid, you use “Drag and Drop” to move the

available fields between the different Pivot Grid areas. Within each of these areas are “Drop Areas,”

which are the only places you can drop a field. To drag a field, left-click on the field header and while

the mouse is still pressed, drag it to the area you wish to drop it in. When the mouse is hovering over a

“Drop Area,” you will see two Arrow Icons displayed which indicate that that location is a valid place to

drop the field. Release the mouse button within the drop area at which point the grid will redraw based

on the new layout.

16

Pivot Grid Field List: The Pivot Grid Field List contains a list of all dimension and measure fields that can

be used within the Pivot Grid (including fields which aren’t currently displayed). These fields are defined

based on the underlying dataset assigned and not all fields on the dataset are visible by default. To see

all available fields, or rearrange hidden fields within a Pivot Grid: Open the Pivot Grid Field List popup

window by right-clicking on any whitespace area on any of the Pivot Grid Header Areas; Select the

“Show Field List” menu option from the popup window.

All of the fields within the Pivot Grid Field List can be moved between areas via “Drag and Drop.” To

increase performance when changing a pivot grid layout, use the “Defer Layout Update” checkbox to

stop the pivot grid from rebuilding itself each time a field is moved. Click the “Update” button (or close

the Pivot Grid Field List popup window) to rebuild the pivot grid using your new settings.

Field Sorting: Pivot Grid data is always sorted against the fields displayed within the Column Header

Area and Row Header Area. By default, the values are sorted by the field text in ascending order. If

values are displayed hierarchically, field values in the child groups are also sorted. Users can toggle the

sort order (ascending or descending) by clicking a field's header. The sort arrow icon on the field header

will display the sort order for the specified field graphically. To sort data by summarized data columns

or rows, right click within the appropriate data header. A popup window will ask which dimension you

wish to sort that data header by.

As an example, let’s say you have a Pivot grid with “Customers” in the Row Header Area and “Dollars” in

the Data Header Area. By default, the report will display the customers alphabetically. If instead you

wish to see the customers sorted by who has the most sales, you would right click on the data header




17

and select “Sort Customer by This Column.” You can use this same approach for every column / row

within your Pivot Grid.

Field Filtering: Pivot Grids can display a subset of rows and/or columns that meet specific criteria.

When filtering is applied to Pivot Grid Fields, only field values that meet all specified criteria are

displayed. Filtered field titles will display with red text so that you can easily identify each field that has

a filter applied. Data can be filtered against single or multiple fields.

To filter data, open each field’s filter window by clicking the Field Filter Icon displayed in the field

header(s). Check or uncheck all applicable field values. Use the “(Show All)” option to check or uncheck

all values in the field. Once you have checked all of the relevant values, click the OK button to apply

your filter. The Pivot Grid will refresh itself only displaying the specified data.

Be aware that each time you open a field filter; the values are all retrieved from the server at that time.

If you have a field with hundreds or thousands of values, expect minor delays in opening the popup filter

window while the data is retrieved and drawn in your browser.

Note that by default, only the values that match ALL filter criteria will appear as values in the Field

Filters. This is called “Pre-Filtering.” For example, if you have 100K customers in your database and

filter a Pivot Grid to only show YTD information, you will only see the customers that have placed orders

this year (Not all 100K customers). If you do not see all values you expect to see in a specific filter, verify

that other fielders have not pre-filtered the data as described.

18

Field Hierarchies: When several fields are placed on the column or row area, field values are

automatically arranged into a tree structure with expandable parents (see the image below). End-users

can expand and collapse child groups to see more summarized or more detailed reports. You can have

an unlimited number of fields within your custom hierarchies. Click the +/- icons to expand / collapse

these hierarchies. When hierarchies exist, right-click on the column / row headers to open a popup

window which (in addition to sort options) will display options allowing you to expand / collapse all child

values.

Pivot Grid “Tools Menu” Options: When viewing individual E21 Analytics Pivot Grids, a new “Tools”

menu option will appear within the E21 Analytics Main Menu. Use the available Pivot Grid tool links to:

Export your chart to XLS, XLSX, CSV, RTF or PDF formats. Note that each of these formats requires the

appropriate software loaded on your specific device to be opened and viewed.

19

Pivot Grid Panels

In addition to all of the functionality within the Pivot Grids themselves, E21 Analytics has predefined

“Pivot Grids Panels” which add to the user-enabled features already available. These panels are turned

on within the pivot grid builder, and as such, each will only be available on those pivot grid pages where

they have been enabled. When turned on, each of the values within the panels will default to the

setting specified by the Pivot Grid designer, but gives the end-user the ability to modify the defaults.

These changes are not stored, so the system will revert back to the default settings each subsequent

time a user accesses the Pivot Grid.

Show Toolbars Panel: Check / uncheck each of the panel options (Cols, Rows, Data, and Filter) to

control whether the specified Toolbar “Areas” display on the Pivot Grid. Hiding individual areas may

make the Pivot Grid more succinct, but doing so will also limit the ability for end-users to easily modify

the default layouts.

Summary Data Fields Panel: Check / uncheck each of the panel options (rankings, percentages,

variations) to control additional summary data that gets calculated and displayed in the data area of the

Pivot Grid. You can toggle any / all of these options simultaneously. Note that you have the ability to

add rankings and percentages to both columns and rows, but that variation information only pertains to

rows.

Note: Summary fields will always be calculated against the first Measure Field within the Data Area. If

you have multiple measures being displayed and wish to change the field by which the data is being

measured: Turn off the applicable checkbox; Change the position of the Measure Fields so that your

relevant measure is first in the list; Turn the rankings back on.

Also, Measure Fields that are calculated (as opposed to Measure Fields whose data comes directly from

the database) cannot be summarized.

Pictured below: A standard E21 Analytics pivot grid with the summary data options “Include Rank In

Column” (blue) and “Include Variation %” (red) enabled:

20

Date Filters Panel: Use the top combo box to change the default date filters used by the pivot grid. Add

additional years to the grid for example, or limit the data to a more specific time period. Use the

bottom combo box to filter all summary data to Year-To-Date, Quarter-To-Date, or Month-To-Date

values.

Top-N Panel: Use the Top-N panel to filter the results displayed in the pivot grid to either a specific

number of records, or a percentage of the total value of your dataset. When selecting a percentage, the

number of records returned will be dependent on the summarized data values, NOT the percentage

count. For example, if you have 100 customers and set the top N to 10% of the Field Measure “Sales”,

you will not get 10 records back. Instead, you will get the number of customers which combines to

make up 10% of the total sales dollars.

Running Totals Panel: Use the Running Totals options to show cumulative data values across all Pivot

Grid rows or columns. For example, if you display months as your columns for sales data: January would

show sales data for January; February would show sales data for the sum of January and February; and

March would show the sum of January, February and March. When hierarchies are present, use the

“Across Groups” checkbox you wish to carry these running totals across multiple groups.

21

Using E21 Analytics Gauges Gauges allow for quick viewing of specific Key Performance Indicators. Gauge types and appearance are

selected by the gauge designer.

Here are some of the features available to users within E21 Analytics Gauges:

Filter Fields: E21 Analytics gauges are created based on the numeric data (measure) returned from the

associated dataset. Additionally, gauges may also have “filter fields” which will allow users to filter the

resulting data further. To filter E21 Analytics gauges, click the dropdown of the available filter fields,

check the applicable filter field records (customers, products, etc), and click the apply button. The gauge

value and subsequent pointer will be redrawn filtering the resulting data based on the original gauge

criteria plus your user defined filters. Note: Filter fields are only available if turned on within the gauge

builder.

Hot Links: E21 Analytics gauges each have the ability to quickly link to other E21 Analytics widgets

within the same module. Typically the “Hot Links” are used to either open other similar widgets or to

drill into more specific information. Note: Hot Links are only available if turned on within the chart

builder.

Administration Links: Administrators have the ability to edit, delete or copy all E21 Analytics gauges.

All changes made via these links are universal (editing a gauge will change it for all users) so use these

features with caution. Note: Administrative rights are maintained within E21 in the E21 Analytics Login

Maintenance screen.

Pictured Below: Filter Fields (Red); Hot Link (Green); Administrative Links (Yellow);

Red Yellow Green Bar: Each gauge within E21 Analytics has a custom “Red Yellow Green” bar which can

quickly point out to users if the underlying values returned are at acceptable levels or if they need

further review / investigation.

22

Gauge Value Label: In addition to the gauge pointer, the actual value returned for the specified

measure will be displayed within the gauge. The location of the Gauge Value Label differs based on the

gauge type.

Gauge Information: At the bottom of each gauge you will find additional gauge information, including

the chart’s title, long description, and also all SQL connection and dataset information used to select the

gauges value.

Gauge “Tools Menu” Options: When viewing individual E21 Analytics Gauges, a new “Tools” menu

option will appear within the E21 Analytics Main Menu. Use the available gauge tools to: Print your

gauge; Export your gauge to either PNG or PDF formats; Display the underlying SQL used to select the

data that is used to generate your gauge.

23

Building / Editing E21 Analytics Widgets System Administrators have the ability to edit existing E21 Analytics widgets, or build new widgets from

scratch. In both cases, this is done within the E21 Analytics “Builder” programs. To create new widgets,

select the “Builder” menu option from the applicable widget menu. To edit existing widgets, select the

“Edit” link from the left-hand side of the page from the applicable widget.

24

Using the Dashboard Builder Dashboards are pages which allow users to view multiple E21 Analytics widgets simultaneously,

providing quick access to an array of information. They are meant to give users a broad overview of

their company or department, and the individual widgets displayed can be used as “jump-off points” to

drill deeper into areas of interest or concern.

There are 2 different types of dashboard within E21 Analytics: The “Home Dashboard,” and “Module

Dashboards.”

The Home Dashboard is the first screen a user sees when they log into the system. Home Dashboards

are the only Dashboards within E21 Analytics that can contain widgets from each module in E21

Analytics. There can be up to 100 Home Dashboards created within the system; however each user will

only have access to a single home dashboard during any E21 Analytics session. A users Home Dashboard

is assigned within E21 in the E21 Analytics Login Maintenance screen. Home dashboards cannot be

created within E21 Analytics, they can only be edited. Once a new Dashboard ID has been assigned to a

user within E21, a blank shell for that dashboard will automatically be created within E21Analaytics.

Administrative users may then select the dashboard “edit” link to modify it within the E21 Analytics

Dashboard Builder.

As their name indicates, Module Dashboards are located within the individual modules in the system

(Sales, Receivables, etc). You can create an unlimited number of Module Dashboards, but these module

dashboards can only contain widgets (pivot grids, charts or gauges) from within their own module. In

other words, a “Sales” dashboard can only contain other widgets from within the Sales module; a

“Receivable” dashboard can only contain other widgets from within the Receivable module, etc.

Administrators can edit existing dashboards by selecting the dashboard “edit” link to modify it within

the E21 Analytics Dashboard Builder. To create new Module Dashboards, open the applicable sub-menu

within the E21 Analytics Main Menu, and select the “Dashboard Builder” menu option.

Once you have opened the dashboard builder, all functionality for modifying and saving both Home and

Module dashboards is identical. Here are the features available to administrators within the E21

Analytics Dashboard Builder:

Note: Before attempting to build or modify E21 Analytics Dashboards, you should be knowledgeable

about all of their end-user features. To learn more about Dashboard end-user features, please see the

section entitled: “Using E21 Analytics Dashboards. “

Once you open the E21 Analytics Dashboard Builder you will see the screen is divided into 2 sections.

The top section contains two tab-separated options: “Default Display” & “Display Dashboard w/Setup

Options.” The bottom displays the dashboard layout and currently selected widgets.

The “Default Display” tab simply hides the setup options allowing you to see the full display of the

dashboard you are building. The “Display Dashboard w/Setup Options” tab is where you will define your

dashboard settings and assign the widgets. Click the “Display Dashboard w/Setup Options” tab to begin

using the Dashboard Builder.

25

Pictured Below: E21 Analytics Dashboard Builder “Setup Options” Tab

In the “Display Dashboard w/Setup Options” tab at the top of the page, assign the following:

Layout Selection: Dashboards can be created in one of 6 distinct layouts. These layouts define how

widgets will be aligned within the dashboard. Note that within each layout area you can stack an

unlimited number of widgets horizontally using Drag and drop “Dock Zones.”

Widget Selection: Dashboards can contain one of three distinct widget types (Charts, Pivot Grids, &

Gauges). Each of these types has its own combo box which contains all of the available widgets for the

dashboard you are creating. Module Dashboards will only contain widgets from within that same

module. Home Dashboards will contain widgets from all modules. To add / remove widgets from your

dashboard: Click the combo box dropdown arrow: Check / uncheck all applicable items; Click the Apply

button. When adding new widgets to your Dashboard, they will always draw in Dashboard Area 1,

which regardless of layout is always the area in the top, left corner of the screen. You can then drag the

widgets to any of the other available dashboard areas.

Once you have selected you’re layout and widgets, click the “Default Display” tab to maximize your

browser real estate (not required). Now arrange your widgets:

Drag and Drop “Dock Zones”: Each widget within a dashboard can be moved into any of the other

available panels. To move widgets: Right-click on the widget header and drag the widget into one of

the other layout “Dock Zones.” When hovering the widget over a valid “Dock Zone,” a blue “docking

area” will appear. Place the widget anywhere within the blue docking area and release your mouse

button. The widget will realign and resize itself to fit perfectly in its new location.

Pictured Below: When moving widgets within dashboards, a blue “Dock Zone” will appear when the

widget is placed over a valid docking area. Releasing the widget anywhere within the Dock Zone will

cause the widget to align and resize itself in the new location.

26

Note: All options within the widget header and footer (custom designer icon and additional detail links)

are disabled within the Dashboard Builder. Additionally, some Pivot Grid options may behave erratically

as well. This is by design and these features will function as expected in the end-user screens. See

“Custom Setup Icons” below for universally modifying Dashboard widgets AFTER you have saved the

layout within the Dashboard Builder.

Reset / Save Links: Once you have completed our dashboard design, click the “Save This Dashboard”

link to apply your changes and name your Dashboard appropriately (for the Home Dashboard the name

you assign will be ignored). The title you assign for Module Dashboards will be the text that is displayed

within the E21 Analytics Menus, & the Dashboard page heading. Enter additional descriptive test in the

“Dashboard Description” field which will display as mouse-over help text on the menus.

Note that once you click the Save option, all changes you make within the builder are immediate and

universal for all users and cannot be undone. Click the Reset option to cancel any changes you have

made within the Dashboard Builder.

Step 1: Select your layout and individual widgets to display. Be sure to click the Apply button after

modifying the selected widgets.

27

Step 2: Each of the selected widgets will be drawn in “Area 1” of your dashboard layout. Use Drag and

drop to move them to the desired areas.

Step 3: After your dashboard is displaying in the desired layout, click the “Save This Dashboard” link to

save it and when applicable make it available to others.

28

Custom Setup Icons: There are many cases where resizing a widget to fit within a dashboard layout

compromises the usefulness of the widget. In most of these cases, the widget can be altered (removing

labels, moving legend position, etc) so that they work better in a dashboard environment.

This can only be done by administrators AFTER you have saved your dashboard and is NOT done within

the dashboard builder!

Within the header section of each dashboard widget is a setup icon which administrators can use to

customize how the applicable widget will display within the dashboard (View-Only users will not see

these icons). Note that these Custom Dashboard settings are specific to the current dashboard, so a

single widget can be setup to display differently from one dashboard to the next.

The custom setting available for charts are as follows: Chart Size, Legend Position, Show Point Labels,

Show Legend, and Show Mouse-Over Labels (2D only). The custom setting available for Pivot Grids are

as follows: Rows per Page. There are no custom settings available for Gauges at this time.

29

Using the Pivot Grid Builder Pivot Grids display data in tabular form and allow end users to slice and dice data in a manner similar to

other popular spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. Additionally, they also allow users to easily

change a report's layout visually in order to examine data from different/multiple perspectives. Fields

are visually represented by field headers, which can be moved between the pivot grid's row, column,

filter & data areas using drag-and-drop. Dragging fields between areas allows you to reorganize the

data and present it in various forms and hierarchies. Data can also be sorted and filtered, and there are

numerous inherent functions such as rankings, variance reporting, date comparisons (YTD, QTD & MTD)

and much more which all allow for in-depth business analysis.

To build new Pivot Grids, select the “Pivot Grid Builder” menu option available to administrators within

each E21 Analytics Module. To edit existing Pivot Grids, select the edit link available on all Pivot Grid

pages.

Once you open the E21 Analytics Pivot Grid Builder you will see the screen is divided into 2 sections.

The top section contains two tab-separated options: “Default Display” & “Display Pivot Grid w/Setup

Options.” The bottom displays the Pivot Grid layout and field information.

The “Default Display” tab simply hides the setup options allowing you to see the full display of the Pivot

Grid you are building. The “Display Pivot Grid w/Setup Options” tab is where you will define your Pivot

Grid default settings. Click the “Display Dashboard w/Setup Options” tab to begin using the Dashboard

Builder.

Note: Before attempting to build or modify E21 Analytics Pivot Grids, you should be knowledgeable

about all of their end-user features. To learn more about Pivot Grid end-user features, please see the

section entitled: “Using E21 Analytics Pivot Grids. “

In the “Display Pivot Grid w/Setup Options” tab at the top of the page, assign the following:

Data Cube: Pivot Grids use OLAP cubes to deliver huge amounts of data to your browser which can be

“sliced & diced” without having the same performance impact that would occur if you were to select /

manipulate the same data directly from your SQL database. E21 Analytics allows for an unlimited

number of cubes per module, however, only one cube can be assigned per widget. Use the Data Cube

selector to determine which OLAP cube to assign to the Pivot Grid you are creating.

30

The Data Cubes available within each module are assigned within E21 in the E21 Analytics Table

Assignment Maintenance screen

See the section entitled E21 Analytics Datasets for more information as to what data is available within

each E21 Analytics OLAP cube.

Primary Date Filter Options: Use the Primary Date Filter Options to filter the data that is returned

within the Pivot Grid (Past 30 days, 5 Years, etc) by date. The date filter options available will vary based

on the “Dataset Time Increment” assigned to the individual Data Cubes. For example, if a data cube is

an aggregation of yearly information, it would not make sense to filter the dataset by the past 2 weeks

worth of information. This Dataset Time Increment is assigned to each cube within E21 in the E21

Analytics Table Maintenance screen.

In addition to standard time filters, the Primary Date Filter also allows you to select custom date filters.

To filter a Pivot Grid by a custom date, simply select the “Custom Dates” option available within all Data

Cubes. Once you select this option 2 new fields will appear allowing you to enter your Custom Begin

Date and your Custom End Date.

Additional Date Filter Options: In addition to filtering your Pivot Grid data by specific date filters, you

also have the option of filtering the data by relative date filter options. What this allows you to do is to

filter the Pivot Grid data by Year-To-Date, Quarter-To-Date or Month-To-Date allowing you to properly

compare data across similar time periods.

Assign Hot Link: The Assign Hot Link combo box will list all widgets within the module. Select from the

list if you wish to create a Hot Link directly from this Pivot Grid page to another E21 Analytics widget.

When a link is assigned, a new “Hot Link” option will appear in the users Pivot Grid page.

Show Toolbar Area Checkbox Options: E21 Analytics contains 4 “Toolbar areas” (Filter, Data, Row &

Column)which allow for the initial design of your Pivot Grid, but also allow the user the ability to further

31

slice / dice / filter / pivot the associated field data. If you do not want your users to modify the Pivot

Grid from its initial design, or simply wish to simplify the look of the resulting Pivot Grid data, hide the

applicable toolbar areas via the following checkboxes: Show Column Toolbar; Show Row Toolbar; Show

Filter Toolbar; Show Data Toolbar.

For more information on the individual toolbars and their purpose, see the section entitled “Using the

E21 Analytics Pivot Grids.”

Allow Field List Popup Checkbox: Users can manipulate visible fields within the Pivot Grid “toolbar

areas”; however another method of designing / altering a Pivot Grid layout is to use the Pivot Grid Field

List via the Field List popup window. Furthermore, the Pivot Grid Field List has an additional 5th field

area for hiding fields which exists within the Data Cube but are not displayed (by default) on the Pivot

Grid. Use the Allow Field List Popup checkbox to disable user access to the Pivot Grid Field List.

For more information on the Pivot Grid Field List and its purpose, see the section entitled “Using the E21

Analytics Pivot Grids.”

Pivot Grid Panel Checkbox Options: In addition to all of the functionality within the Pivot Grids

themselves, E21 Analytics has predefined “Pivot Grids Panels” which add to the user-enabled features

already available. When turned on, each of the values within the panels will default to the setting

specified by the Pivot Grid designer, but gives the end-user the ability to modify the defaults. These

changes are not stored, so the system will revert back to the default settings each subsequent time a

user accesses the Pivot Grid. If you want to display and of these panels in your Pivot Grid, select the

applicable panel option(s): Show Toolbars Panel; Show Summary Fields Panel; Show Date Filter Panel,

Show Top-N Panel, Show Running Total Panel.

For more information on the Pivot Grid Panels and their purpose, see the section entitled “Using the E21

Analytics Pivot Grids.”

32

Column / Row “Totals” Checkbox Options: Use the available checkbox options to toggle if / where your

Pivot Grids will display the Row & Column “Totals” information. Grand Totals display the summary of all

row & column data. By default, column grand-totals display at the bottom of the grid and row totals

display at the right. Sub-totals are rows or columns that are inserted into the grid which display the

summary of grouped data when groups are expanded. You have the following “Totals” options: Show

Column Grand Totals; Show Row Grand Totals; Show Column Sub-Totals; Show Row Sub Totals; Column

Totals on Left; Row Totals on Top.

Compact Row Layout Checkbox: This option should be enabled when Pivot Grids have field hierarchies

within the Row Toolbar Area which, when expanded, take up a disproportionate amount of horizontal

real estate. Enabling the Compact Row Layout” will display the row totals in a “tree view” where the

child columns are created below the parent, instead of a standard grid view in which the child columns

are created to the right of the parent. Note: This option does not compact the row headers when

hierarchies are collapsed.

Pictured below: A standard pivot grid (left) compared with the same view in “Compact Row Layout”

(right).

Summary Data Checkbox Options: In addition to viewing field data, E21 Analytics has predefined

summary data options which can add to the usefulness of the underlying dataset. Use these options to

calculate and display the following information: Rankings in both columns & rows; Percentages of both

columns and rows; Variations & variation percentages of rows.

Note: Summary data will always be calculated against the first Measure Field within the Data Area. If

you have multiple measures being displayed and wish to change the field by which the data is being

measured: Turn off the applicable checkbox; Change the position of the Measure Fields so that your

relevant measure is first in the list; Turn the rankings back on.

33

Also, Measure Fields that are calculated (as opposed to Measure Fields whose data comes directly from

the database) cannot be summarized.

Pictured below: A standard E21 Analytics pivot grid with the summary data options “Include Rank In

Column” (blue) and “Include Variation %” (red) enabled:

Top-N Options: Use the Top-N options to filter the results displayed in the pivot grid to either a specific

number of records, or a percentage of the total value of your dataset. When selecting a percentage, the

number of records returned will be dependent on the summarized data values, NOT the percentage

count. For example, if you have 100 customers and set the top N to 10% of the Field Measure “Sales”,

you will not get 10 records back. Instead, you will get the number of customers which combines to

make up 10% of the total sales dollars.

Rows Per Page: Set the Rows Per Page to limit the number of rows that are returned on each page in

your pivot grid. The less rows that are displayed, the faster the pages will load. When more rows exist

in the dataset than are set to be displayed on a page, paging links will be created allowing users to

quickly page thru the remaining data.

Note: You should always display at least enough information to make the individual widget pages

usable. For example, if you are displaying months in your rows, you should not limit the Rows Per Page

to 10 which would force November and December data to a second page.

Filter Display: The Filter Display settings control how the filter data within the pivot grid fields should be

created each time the pivot grid is rebuilt. Use “Hide Unavailable Items” (default) to only display those

dimension items which actually have valid values within the dataset. Note that as you continue to filter

other field data, the number of values which will display when using this setting will decrease. “Disable

Unavailable Items” is similar to Hide Unavailable Items in that you will only be able to choose valid filter

values, however, all values within the dataset will still display; Finally, “Always Show All Items” will show

all dimension items regardless of the filtered data. Use “Disable Unavailable Items” and “Always Show

All Items “with caution and avoid using either in Pivot Grids in which there are dimensions with large

numbers of records. Always displaying all possible records in your field data will have a negative impact

on performance.

34

Example: The following Pivot Grid displays sales data by quarter for the current year (2013), but since it

is currently January, there is no relevant data for quarters 2, 3 or 4. Pictured below is how altering the

Filter Display will alter the filtering capabilities of the Quarter field:

Once you have selected you’re Pivot Grid settings, click the “Default Display” tab to maximize your

browser real estate (not required). Now arrange the fields in your Pivot Grid as desired.

35

For more information on arranging the Pivot Grids, see the section entitled “Using the E21 Analytics Pivot

Grids.”

Reset / Save Links: Once you have completed your Pivot Grid design, click the “Save This Grid” link to

apply your changes and name your Pivot Grid appropriately. The title you assign will be the text that is

displayed within the E21 Analytics Menus, the Pivot Grid page heading, and also the dashboard widget

selection fields within the dashboard builders. Enter additional descriptive test in the “Pivot Grid

Description” field which will display as mouse-over help text on the menus.



made within the Pivot Grid Builder.

36

Using the Chart Builder

General Charting Concepts & E21 Analytics Chart Terminology

Charts allow for a graphical representation of data which allows for quick interpretation of large

amounts of information. E21 Analytics currently generates 7 distinct chart view types: Area, Bar,

Doughnut, Funnel, Line, Pie, and Point Charts.

Note: Before attempting to build or modify E21 Analytics Charts, you should be knowledgeable about all

of their end-user features. To learn more about Chart end-user features, please see the section entitled:

“Using E21 Analytics Charts. “

In addition to knowing the end-user features before building charts, it is also important to understand a few basic principles & terms.

In general charting, the rectangular coordinate system is used to determine each point uniquely on a plane through two numbers, the argument and the value of the point. To define the coordinates, two perpendicular directed lines - the axes are specified: the axis of arguments (X-axis) and the axis of values (Y-axis). A Series represents a grouping of the related data points. The most important characteristic of a series is its view type, which determines the particular visual representation of data.

With that in mind, all E21 Analytics charts are created by selecting 3 distinct pieces of information from

your corresponding E21 database dataset. These values consist of numeric data (dollars, quantities,

etc) and one argument which define the axis information. You may then select a second argument

which defines the series information. We call the numeric data fields you select “Measures”, and the

two category fields “X-Axis” and “Series” respectively. Please note that these arguments (X-Axis &

Series) can be inverted without changing the overall functionality of the chart itself.

Please refer to the following images to see how an Area chart and a Pie chart view types use the same X-

Axis, Series & Measure information to create two very different views of the same data. Administrators

should take some time to familiarize themselves with how each of these settings affects the different

E21 Analytics chart types.

Pictured Below: Line Chart w/X-Axis=Years, Series=Customer Group, and Measure=Quantity

37

Pictured Below: Pie Chart w/X-Axis=Years, Series=Customer Group, and Measure=Quantity

Using the Chart Builder

To build new E21 Analytics charts, select the “Chart Builder” menu option available to administrators

within each E21 Analytics Module. To edit existing charts, select the edit link available on all chart

pages.

Once you open the E21 Analytics Chart Builder you will see the screen is divided into 2 sections. The top

section contains three tab-separated options: “Default Display,” “Display Chart w/Setup Options,” &

“Display Chart w/Appearance Options.” The bottom section of the page displays the chart you are

building.

The “Default Display” tab simply hides the setup options allowing you to see the full display of the chart

you are building. The “Display Chart w/Setup Options” tab is where you will define the main settings of

38

your chart and also select which filters you will make available to end-users. The “Display Chart

w/Appearance Options” tab is where you will fine-tune your charts appearance.

Click the “Display Chart w/Setup Options” tab to begin using the Chart Builder.

Using the Chart Builder - Display Chart w/Setup Options Tab

Use the following settings in the Setup Options tab to assign your main chart values.

Data Table: To build charts in E21 Analytics you must first select which database table the chart

information will be coming from. Once the table is selected, the chart builder will refresh itself with all

of the tables applicable fields which can then be used for assigning the chart X-Axis, Series & Measures,

along with customer and end-user filters. E21 Analytics allows for an unlimited number of tables per

module, however, only one table can be assigned per widget. Use the Data Table selector to determine

which tables to assign to the Chart you are creating.

Chart Type: E21 Analytics currently generates 7 distinct chart types: Area, Bar, Doughnut, Funnel, Line,

Pie, and Point Charts.

Date Filter Options: Use the Date Filter Options to filter the data that is returned within the chart (Past

30 days, 5 Years, etc) by date. The date filter options available will vary based on the “Dataset Time

Increment” assigned to the individual Data Tables. For example, if a data table is an aggregation of

yearly information, it would not make sense to filter the dataset by the past 2 weeks worth of

information. This Dataset Time Increment is assigned to each table within E21 in the E21 Analytics Table

Maintenance screen.

In addition to standard time filters, the Date Filter also allows you to select custom date filters. To filter

a chart by a custom date, simply select the “Custom Dates” option available within all Data Tables. Once

you select this option, 2 new fields will appear allowing you to enter your Custom Begin Date and your

Custom End Date.

39

Additional Date Filter Options: In addition to filtering your Chart data by specific date filters, you also

have the option of filtering the data by relative date filter options. What this allows you to do is to filter

the Chart data by Year-To-Date, Quarter-To-Date or Month-To-Date allowing you to properly compare

data across similar time periods.

Custom Field Filters: To always filter the data retuned from the dataset, set an unlimited number of

field filters (Product Group = “ABC”, Status = “A”, etc) with the Custom Field Filters wizard. The Custom

Field Filter wizard allows non-technical users the ability to build complex SQL filters which will be added

to the SQL statement used to retrieve the charts data. Using the Custom Field Filter Wizard sets a “Hard

Filter” which cannot be changed by end users.

Note: You must know the valid data values within your system to enter valid field filters. You should

have this information available before entering the Custom Field Filter wizard. Creating custom field

filters using invalid field data will likely result in a blank chart.

To create a Custom Field Filter:

1) From within the Chart Builder, click the “Custom Field Filter” button to open the wizard. Click

the + icon next to the word “And” to begin building your filter.

40

2) When you click the + icon, a new filter will be created defaulting to the first field (sorted

alphabetically) from your dataset. Click this field and scroll thru the list until you find the field

you wish to filter your dataset by. Click the new field in the list to replace the current filter field

3) Click the “Equals” link to view all possible conditions / operator for your custom filter. Scroll

thru the list and select your new condition.

4) Once you have selected your operator / condition, click on the “<enter a value>” link to

manually enter the data values for your filter. Note that for some operators a single value will

suffice, and for others you can enter multiple values. Also, you must know the valid data within

your system to enter valid field filters. Filtering a dataset using invalid data will likely result in a

blank chart.

41

5) To add additional filters, click the + icon next to the “And” link again and repeat steps 1-4 as

many time as you wish. For additional options such as addition condition groupings, click the

“And” link before clicking the + icon to change join conditions.

6) Click the “Apply” button to save your Custom Field Filter.

X-Axis: All E21 Analytics charts are created by selecting 3 distinct pieces of information from your

corresponding E21 database dataset. These values consist of numeric data (dollars, quantities, etc) and

one argument which define the axis information. You may then select a second argument which defines

the series information. We call the numeric data fields you select “Measures”, and the two category

fields “X-Axis” and “Series” respectively. Use the X-Axis field to select the argument to use from all of

the available fields available within your selected dataset. Additionally, select any of the “Timeline”

elements (Timeline – Years, Timeline – Months, etc) to create charts which display information over

time.

Series: All E21 Analytics charts are created by selecting 3 distinct pieces of information from your


42



fields “X-Axis” and “Series” respectively. Use the Series field to select the argument to use from all of

the available fields available within your selected dataset. Additionally, if you have selected one of the

Timeline elements (excluding Timeline - Years) for your X-Axis, you can also select “Years” as your Series

which allows you to create yearly comparisons for the selected Timeline. Finally, you can select

“Measures” as your series, so that you can select, display and compare multiple measures in your chart

simultaneously.

Pictured Below: This is the same chart being displayed with 2 different Series settings. In both, the X-

Axis is set to “Timeline – Months,” however, in the first chart, Series=”None.” This causes the X-Axis to

chronologically display each month for all years in the dataset. In the second chart, Series=”Years” which

separates the yearly values on the chart. Now only the individual months are displayed on the X-Axis and

the yearly values for each month have their own series points on the chart (distinguished by series color).

Measure(s): All E21 Analytics charts are created by selecting 3 distinct pieces of information from your




fields “X-Axis” and “Series” respectively. Use the Measures field to select which numeric data you will

use to display as series points on your chart. Additionally, if you have selected “Measures” as the

Series, you can select multiple measures to display simultaneously.

Pictured Below: This is the same chart being displayed with 2 different Series settings. In both, the X-

Axis is set to “Timeline –Years,” however, in the first chart, Series=”None.” This only allows for a single

43

Measure to be displayed. In the second chart, Series=”Measures” which allows for the selection of

multiple measures on your chart. Now instead of a single set of series poins being displayed, multiple

series points can be displayed simultaneously (distinguished by series color).

Show measure(s) in Filter List Checkbox: Use this checkbox to allow end-users the ability to change the

default measure information you assign to the chart. If this option is checked, the user will see a

dropdown filter option for measure(s) which they can edit just like the other “category” end-user filters.

Invert X-Axis / Series Checkbox: Use this checkbox to swap the values for the X-Axis and Series on your

chart. This is particularly useful if you wish to assign Timeline values to your Series. Since the automatic

Timeline values (Timeline - Years, Timeline – Months, etc) are not available within the Series selector,

you can select these values from within the X-Axis selector and then invert the values.

Aggregate Options: Use this dropdown selector to determine whether the measure data displayed on

your chart will be a summarized or averaged.

Sort Options: Use this dropdown selector to determine how the data on your chart will be sorted. You

can sort data by the X-Axis category names (ascending or descending), by the series category names

(ascending or descending) or the measure values (ascending or descending).

Please note at this time that you cannot sort stacked bar charts.

Top-N Options: Use the Top-N options to filter the results displayed in the chart to a specific number of

X-Axis records. Select the “Others” option to combine all remaining measure data into one value

displayed as “Others” on your chart.

44

Assign Hot Link: The Assign Hot Link combo box will list all widgets within the module. Select from the

list if you wish to create a Hot Link directly from this chart page to another E21 Analytics widget. When

a link is assigned, a new “Hot Link” option will appear in the users chart page.

Assign End-User Filters: You can select any number of End-User filters to make available on your chart

which will allow users to drill deeper into the data. To add End-User filters, simply check any of the

available field filter checkboxes. Selecting these checkboxes will turn on the filter comboboxes at

runtime which uers can then use to filter the data without actually changing the underlying design of the

chart.

Using the Chart Builder - Display Chart w/Appearance Options Tab

Use the following settings in the Appearance Options tab to effect how your chart is drawn.

45

3D: This checkbox will toggle whether the selected chart type displays in 3D. Note that on certain chart

types (Bar, Area, Line, Point), selecting the 3D feature may also require change to the charts Zoom

Percent & Offset settings to make the chart legible. It is suggested that 3D is only used for Pie,

doughnut & funnel charts.

Stacked: This checkbox controls whether multiple series within a chart display either side-by-side or

stacked upon each other. When a chart is stacked, only 1 X-Axis value will be displayed for all of the

individual series. This option does nothing in pie, doughnut & funnel chart types.

Show Point Labels: This checkbox controls whether the point labels for a chart will be displayed.

Show Zero Point Labels: This checkbox controls whether the point labels for a chart will be displayed

when the point label value = 0. This option does nothing in pie, doughnut & funnel chart types.

Show Legend: This checkbox controls whether the chart legend will be displayed.

Show Label Value As %: This checkbox controls whether the point labels for a chart will be displayed as

a percentage value of the series or the actual numeric value. This setting requires the “Label Format”

setting to include values to have any effect.

Show Legend Value As %: This checkbox controls whether the legend values will be displayed as a

percentage value of the series or the actual numeric value. This setting requires the “Legend Format”

setting to include values to have any effect.

Show Mouse over Labels: This checkbox controls whether a legend with all series values will appear

when a user moves their cursor over the X-Axis of a chart. It is only available in 2D charts and is not

guaranteed to be functional on all touch screen devices.

Show Empty Fields: This checkbox controls whether X-Axis setting which have no values will display on

a chart.

Show All Series in Legend: This checkbox controls whether a legend will display information for every

point on a chart. Use this setting to hide duplicate series values.

Show Main Title: This checkbox controls whether the charts menu title will display within the actual

chart. Note: The chart title always display within the menu heading, so this should only be enabled if

you plan on exporting the chart image to other programs (PDF, image viewers, etc).

46

Show Filter Title: This checkbox controls whether the charts current filter values are displayed within

the actual chart. It is suggested that this feature always be enabled.

Show X Margins: This checkbox controls whether the charts point values should display right up to the

charts X-Axis edges, or whether there should be some margin “padding”. Use this option if a charts

point labels do not fit properly within the available space.

Show Y Margins: This checkbox controls whether the charts point values should display right up to the

charts Y-Axis edges, or whether there should be some margin “padding”. Use this option if a charts

point labels do not fit properly within the available space.

Angle X-Axis Label: This checkbox controls whether a charts X-Axis will display horizontally or on a 45

degree angle. Use this option when you have many X-Axis values, or your X-Axis labels are very long.

Label Orientation: Use this option to select how a charts label values are displayed within the chart

(Horizontal, Vertical, etc.). Each chart type has unique orientation values available to it. This setting

requires the “Show Label” setting to be checked to have any effect.

Label Format: Use this option to select what information will display in your charts point labels. Point

labels can display any combination of the descriptions of both the X-Axis and Series, as well as the actual

value of the series points. This setting requires the “Show Label” setting to be checked to have any

effect.

Resolve Label Overlap: Use this option to select how to handle point labels which overlap within a chart

making them illegible (Hide overlapped, etc.) Each chart type has unique orientation values available to

it. This setting requires the “Show Label” setting to be checked to have any effect.

Legend Position: Use this option to select where your chart legend will display within your chart image.

This setting requires the “Show Legend” setting to be checked to have any effect.

Legend Format: Use this option to select what information will display in your chart legend. Legend

labels can display any combination of the descriptions of both the X-Axis and Series, as well as the actual

value of the series points. This setting requires the “Show Legend” setting to be checked to have any

effect.

Max Scale Breaks: Use this option to set the number of scale breaks you wish to allow within a chart.

Scale breaks allows for outlier values within a chart to be “broken” so that other values still remain

legible. This option does nothing in pie, doughnut & funnel chart types.

Zoom Percent: Use this option in 3D charts where enabling 3D either makes the zoom too big or too

small to be legible. This option does nothing in 2D charts and is also ignored in regardless of the 3D

setting in pie, doughnut & funnel chart types.

47

Offsets: Use this option in 3D charts where enabling 3D either makes the X-Axis or Y-Axis labels illegible

based on the selected Zoom Percent. This option does nothing in 2D charts and is also ignored in

regardless of the 3D setting in pie, doughnut & funnel chart types.

Exploded Points: Use this option to select whether you wish to “explode” the minimum or maximum

values of a pie or doughnut chart. Exploding points simply separates these values out for effect. This

setting has no effect on the other chart types.

Chart Appearance: Use this option to select from a collection of pre-formatted chart appearance

options. Use this along with the palette settings to set a charts background and series color options.

Palette: Use this option to select from a collection of pre-formatted color palettes. Use this along with

the appearance settings to control a charts background and series color options.

Transparency: Use this setting to allow for transparency between a charts series values. Assigning a

higher transparency will allow users to see thru series point to view any additional series point which

may reside behind it.

Using the Chart Builder – Miscellaneous Settings & Links

Reset / Save Links: Once you have completed your Chart design, click the “Save This Chart” link to apply

your changes and name your chart appropriately. The title you assign will be the text that is displayed

within the E21 Analytics Menus, the chart page heading, and also the dashboard widget selection fields

within the dashboard builders. Enter additional descriptive test in the “Chart Description” field which

will display as mouse-over help text on the menus.



made within the Chart Builder.

Defer Chart Update: Each time you change a chart setting, the information must be sent to the server

and an updated chart image must be returned over the internet and re-drawn before you can change

any other settings. Select the “Defer Chart Update” checkbox to delay this round-trip process until all

settings have been changed. If the Defer Chart Update checkbox is selected, click the “Update” link to

refresh your chart using the current settings.

48

Using the Gauge Builder <Sorry … This section of the documentation is currently incomplete>

49

E21 Analytics Datasets E21 Analytics comes with a pre-built set of datasets for each module, delivered as part of the base

system. These datasets are intended to both consolidate all of the relevant field data for a given

module, and will also summarize data in a way which maximizes E21 Analytics performance.

The way this is done is to create large, sometimes complex database views which contain all relevant

data for a particular module. Since SQL Server views are non-indexed and typically would be very slow,

these views are then read by SQL Server stored procedures at specified intervals (executed by the SQL

Server Job Agent) and loaded into the E21 Analytics summary tables. Data is typically summarized in

these tables by day, week, month & year. Each of these summary tables contains a set number of

“units” (typically 60) per period. In other words, the daily table will contain 60 days’ worth of data; the

weekly table will contain 60 weeks’ worth of data, and so on.

Below you will find the descriptions of each of the E21 Analytics datasets, their associated fields, the

names of the stored procedures which load them, and the associated summary tables.

Note: The views documented below are for informational purposes and should not be used for

retrieving E21 data. When using the TGI supplied datasets, always use the relevant indexed tables.

Note: Not all summary tables are always loaded for each module. See the values in the table

“e21aspsetup” which defines which non-essential summary tables are loaded at each site.

50

E21 Analytics Datasets: Sales E21 Analytics delivers two distinct datasets in the sales module. The first contains only relevant sales

information at the header level. This includes sales data for customers, cost centers, etc. The second

contains relevant sales information at both the header AND the detail level. This dataset contains all of

the information from the first dataset, but also contains sales data at the product level as well. All

quantity values are available in both stocking and ordering UOM’s. Each of the dataset summary tables

typically contains 60 periods of data (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly information). Sales also contains

an “all” table which contains all daily sales data for the past 3-5 years.

Sales Views: e21asalesv, e21asalesdtv

Sales Stored Procedure: e21asp_sales

Sales Header Tables: e21asales_all, e21asales_day, e21asales_week, e21asales_month, e21asales_year

Sales Header Table Fields:

date DateTime doc_type varchar(20) doc_invoiced varchar(3) doc_backorder varchar(3) doc_numb varchar(20) gl_year varchar(4) gl_quarter char(1) gl_month varchar(2) gl_period varchar(2) order_numb varchar(10) rel_numb varchar(3) order_date DateTime division_code varchar(4) cust_code varchar(15) cp_code varchar(15) billto_code varchar(15) shipto_code varchar(15) shipst varchar(2) shipcountry varchar(3) carr_code varchar(4) met_of_ship varchar(6) user_so varchar(12) cust_group varchar(10) cust_subgroup varchar(10) cust_line varchar(10) cust_subline varchar(10) cust_stype varchar(6) cost_ctr varchar(6) sls_rep varchar(9) line_count integer

51

qty_stock float qty_ord float price_avg float dollars float gross_dollars float cogs_dollars float profit_dollars float profit_margin float weight_lbs float freight_dollars float discount_dollars float labor_dollars float burden_dollars float materials_dollars float Sales Detail Tables: e21asalesdt_all, e21asalesdt_day, e21asalesdt_week, e21asalesdt_month, e21asales_year Sales Detail Fields: date DateTime doc_type varchar(20) doc_invoiced varchar(3) doc_backorder varchar(3) doc_numb varchar(20) gl_year varchar(4) gl_quarter char(1) gl_month varchar(2) gl_period varchar(2) order_numb varchar(10) rel_numb varchar(3) order_date DateTime division_code varchar(4) cust_code varchar(15) cp_code varchar(15) billto_code varchar(15) shipto_code varchar(15) shipst varchar(2) shipcountry varchar(3) carr_code varchar(4) met_of_ship varchar(6) user_so varchar(12) cust_group varchar(10) cust_subgroup varchar(10) cust_line varchar(10) cust_subline varchar(10) cust_stype varchar(6) cost_ctr varchar(6)

52

sls_rep varchar(9) part_code varchar(30) alt_part1 varchar(30) part_grp varchar(16) part_subgrp varchar(16) part_subgrp2 varchar(16) part_subgrp3 varchar(16) part_stype varchar(6) line_count integer qty_stock float qty_ord float price_avg float dollars float gross_dollars float cogs_dollars float profit_dollars float profit_margin float weight_lbs float freight_dollars float discount_dollars float labor_dollars float burden_dollars float materials_dollars float

53

E21Analytics Datasets: AR E21 Analytics delivers one dataset group in the AR module. The dataset contains AR information at the

bill-to level. Each of the dataset summary tables typically contains 60 periods of data (daily, weekly,

monthly and yearly information). AR also contains a “current” table which contains only the most

recent record from the e21aar_day table.

AR View: e21aarv

AR Stored Procedure: e21asp_ar

AR Tables: e21aar_current, e21aar_all, e21aar_day, e21aar_week, e21aar_month, e21aar_year

AR Table Fields:

date datetime billto_code varchar(15) cost_ctr varchar(6) cust_group varchar(10) cust_subgroup varchar(10) cust_line varchar(10) cust_subline varchar(10) sales_type varchar(6) amount_net float invoice_amount float payment_amount float credit_amount float discount_amount float writeoff_amount float other_amount float current_ar float total_ar float past_due float age1_amt float age2_amt float age3_amt float age4_amt float age5_amt float current_credits float current_open_count integer transaction_count integer invoice_count integer payment_count integer credit_count integer discount_count integer writeoff_count integer other_count integer on_time_count integer on_time_avg float

54

late_count integer late_avg float on_time_discount_count integer on_time_discount_avg float days_to_pay_count integer days_to_pay_avg float days_late_pay_count integer days_late_pay_avg float

55

E21Analytics Datasets: Inventory E21 Analytics delivers one dataset group in the Inventory module. The dataset contains Inventory

information at the product / cost center level. All quantity values are available in stocking, reporting

and Lb (when applicable) UOMs. Each of the dataset summary tables typically contains 60 periods of

data (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly information). Inventory also contains a “current” table which

contains only the most recent record from the e21ain_day table.

Inventory Views: e21ainvdetv, e21ainvdetmev

Inventory Stored Procedure: e21asp_in

Inventory Tables: e21ain_current, e21ain_all, e21ain_day, e21ain_week, e21ain_month, e21ain_year

Inventory Table Fields:

date DateTime part_code varchar(30) cost_ctr varchar(6) gl_year varchar(4) gl_quarter char(1) gl_month varchar(2) gl_period varchar(2) fac_type char(1) alt_part1 varchar(30) part_grp varchar(16) part_subgrp varchar(16) part_subgrp2 varchar(16) part_subgrp3 varchar(16) part_type varchar(4) sale_type varchar(6) uom varchar(2) rptuom varchar(2) lbsuom varchar(2) min_inv float max_inv float rpt_min_inv float rpt_max_inv float lbs_min_inv float lbs_max_inv float dollars float qty_net float qty float qty_vndrec float qty_addinv float qty_putawy float qty_cstret float qty_ict float

56

qty_prodct float qty_shpmnt float qty_invsub float qty_vndret float qty_locchg float qty_intcom float rpt_conv float rpt_qty_net float rpt_qty float rpt_qty_vndrec float rpt_qty_addinv float rpt_qty_putawy float rpt_qty_cstret float rpt_qty_ict float rpt_qty_prodct float rpt_qty_shpmnt float rpt_qty_invsub float rpt_qty_vndret float rpt_qty_locchg float rpt_qty_intcom float lbs_conv float lbs_qty_net float lbs_qty float lbs_qty_vndrec float lbs_qty_addinv float lbs_qty_putawy float lbs_qty_cstret float lbs_qty_ict float lbs_qty_prodct float lbs_qty_shpmnt float lbs_qty_invsub float lbs_qty_vndret float lbs_qty_locchg float lbs_qty_intcom float

57

E21 Integration E21 Analytics dashboards and widgets can be fully integrated into your E21 desktop application via the

following 4 methods:

1. E21 Startup Screen(s)

2. E21 Menu Options

3. E21 Favorites

4. E21 Navigation & Hot buttons

The key to this integration is to assign your E21 Analytics domain, and to know the appropriate E21

Analytics widget ID for use within the standard E21 setup maintenance programs. When setting up

filtered options (view the sales over time for a specific product for example) you will also need to know

the applicable field name(s) on the applicable widgets’ dataset.

Hint: The E21 Analytics Widget ID is the numeric value that displays at the end of the URL when you

open an E21 Analytics widget within your browser. You can also locate the Widget ID by querying the

applicable menu item in the E21 Analytics Menu Maintenance program (e21amenu) typically located

within the E21 menu via E21 Analytics -> Table Maintenance.

Setting up the default E21 Analytics domain within E21 You may have multiple instances of E21 Analytics setup. For example, you may have an internal URL and

an external URL, or maybe test and production environments. E21 allows you to account for this by

allowing you to assign a default domain and switch this default depending on which database you are

accessing.

Your default E21 Analytics domain is assigned in the “E21Analytics Domain Maintenance” program

(e21adomain) typically located in your E21 menu via E21 Analytics -> Table Maintenance. You may

name your domain anything you wish, but be sure to enter the correct Domain URL as this will be the

URL used by all other E21 Analytics integration within E21.

58

Open E21 Analytics dashboard(s) upon E21 login E21 allows the ability to open a default program when signing into the application. You can select an

E21 Analytics dashboard as this default program using the procedures within E21 that you would any

other startup program.

Note that in E2181, TGI introduced the ability to open multiple startup programs.

For users on E21 81 and above:

Your E21 startup programs are assigned in the “Screen Startup for Users” program (usrstup) typically

located in your E21 menu via System Administration -> User & Security Setup. Enter “e21anaytics” as

your Startup Program(s) and your widget ID(s) as the Startup Program parameter.

For users on E2180 and below:

Your E21 startup programs are assigned in the “Individual Users” program (users) typically located in

your E21 menu via System Administration -> User & Security Setup. Enter “e21anaytics” as your Startup

Program and your widget ID as the Startup Program parameter.

59

Open E21 Analytics widgets from E21 menus E21 allows the ability to open E21 Analytics dashboards & widgets as standard E21 menu options. You

can assign E21 Analytics page as a menu option within E21 using the standard Menu Maintenance

program (menset) typically located in the E21 menu system in System Administration -> Menu &

Navigation Setup.

When entering new E21 Analytics menu items, set Program / Level = “e21analytics” & Parameters =

<widget id>. It is also recommended to assign the menu title to match the title from within E21

Analytics. The will make the system integration more intuitive for users.

Add E21 Analytics menus to favorites Once you have created your E21 Analytics menu options, follow standard E21 procedures to add these

items to your menu Favorites.

1. Open your E21 Analytics page via your E21 menu option

2. With the E21 Analytics widget as your active tab, click the “Add to Favorites” option from the

E21 menu.

60

Open (filtered) widgets from navigator options

E21 allows the ability to open E21 Analytics dashboards1 & widgets as standard E21 navigator & hot

button options. You can assign E21 Analytics page as a navigator option within E21 using the standard

Navigator Options List Setup program (optmnu) typically located in the E21 menu system in System

Administration -> Menu & Navigation Setup.

When entering new E21 Analytics navigator option, set the Program To Run = “e21analytics”, Program

Type = “P”, and it is also recommended to assign the menu title to match the title from within E21

Analytics. The will make the system integration more intuitive for users. You may then assign a more

concise button text and button image if you choose to do so.

To assign the proper analytics page to the navigator option, create a new detail record Type=”A”,

Selection Field = <widget ID>, and Value Type = “V”. Note: This must be the 1st detail line item.

Typically when setting up a navigator option you will want to filter the widget you are to view by the

currently active record within E21. For example, if you are in the E21 Product Master page and with to

open a “Sales Over Time” chart, you would want to see the chart filtered by the current product record.

To perform this filter, you must know the applicable field name of your widget dataset2 before you

begin. You must also know the corresponding field name within the E21 program. Once you know this

information, create a 2nd line item in the detail record where Type=”S”, Parameter Field=<E21 Analytics

dataset fieldname >, Selection Field = “E21 program fieldname>, Value Type = “C”.

1 To open filtered dashboards, there are additional steps required. See additional documentation in “Open

(filtered) dashboard widgets from navigator options” below. 2 To identify the field names of the E21 Analytics program, first identify the dataset used on the widget. Once you

know the widget’s dataset, open the E21Analytics Table Maintenance program (e21atable) typically located in the

E21 menu system via E21 Analytics -> Table Maintenance. Query your dataset to see the full list of applicable

dataset field names. When setting up a Pivot Grid widget, be sure to use the case sensitive Pivot Grid style

fieldname (examples: [Partmstr].[Partmstr].[Partmstr] or [Partmstr].[Part Desc].[Part Desc]) in your parameter

field.

61

Open (filtered) dashboard widgets from navigator options

E21 Analytics dashboards combine multiple widgets, and potentially multiple widget styles (charts,

gauges & pivot grids) on a single page. Furthermore, some E21 Analytics dashboards may allow for

multiple datasets which may not share similar fieldnames. Let’s say, for example, that we have a

“customer” dashboard which contains 4 widgets:

1. Customer Sales Over Time chart

2. Customer Sales by Product Group pivot grid

3. Open AR Chart (AR datasets are filtered by billto_code)

4. Historical AR Statistics pivot grid (where only Billto Name is on pivot grid field list)

Now let’s say that we want to be able to call this dashboard form the Customer Master program within

E21. The issue is that to properly filter this dashboard, we need to filter each of the available E21

Analytics widgets by a different field value:

1. cust_code

2. [Orderfrom].[Orderfrom].[Orderfrom]

3. billto_code

4. [Billto].[Bus Name].[Bus Name]

To account for this issue, use the E21 Analytics Dashboard Filters program (e21adashflt) typically located

in your E21 menus via E21 Analytics -> Table Maintenance. Within this program you can assign a matrix

that defines how a single filter (in this example the cust_code field from the Customer Master program)

passed to E21 Analytics can be properly translated by each of the various dashboard widgets. 3

First, in the header section of the Dashboard Filter program, add the appropriate dashboard ID, the field

name you will be masking (in this example the cust_code field from the Customer Master program) and

the Title Mask, which is simply text which will display in the dashboard header when calling a filtered

dashboard (“Filtered by <Title Mask>”).

Once you have setup your header, start adding line items to the detail which create the field maps for

EVERY widget on the dashboard. In our examples above:

1. Customer Code will map directly to our “Customer Sales Over Time” chart, so in line item 1 you

would insert Widget ID=<widget ID> and Widget Field Name = “cust_code”.

2. We will need to create a map to the valid “Customer Sales by Product Group” pivot grid dataset

field, so in line item 2 you would insert Widget ID=<widget ID> and Widget Field Name =

“[Orderfrom].[Orderfrom].[Orderfrom]”.

3 There MUST be some correlation between the value on the calling program and the value on the

associated dashboard widgets, or those widgets cannot be filtered.

62

3. We will need to create a map to the valid “Open AR Chart” chart field, so in line item 3 you

would insert Widget ID=<widget ID> and Widget Field Name = “billto_code”.

4. We will need to create a map to the valid “Historical AR Statistics” pivot grid field, so in line item

3 you would insert Widget ID=<widget ID> and Widget Field Name = “[Billto].[Bus Name].[Bus

Name]”. Since “billto.bus_name” actually requires some lookup logic (were only passing the

cust_code) you also have to include the secondary lookup values: Lookup Table = “billto”,

Lookup Key Field = “billto_code”, Lookup Value Field = “bus_name”.

Once you have setup all applicable dashboard filters, you must still create a standard E21 navigator

option, passing the field name from header of the dashboard filters program as the navigator option

filter parameter. Refer to “Open (filtered) widgets from navigator options”

E21 Analytics Users Guide - tgiltd.com

Documents

Transcript of E21 Analytics Users Guide - tgiltd.com