It is important to distinguish between a dashboard and a report. A dashboard should be a one-page visualization of the most important data a user needs to see. A report contains details that are usually of the lowest granularity, and thus should remain at the SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence (Webi) report level. It is a common dashboard requirement to drill down from a chart or scorecard to view individual details. Instead of showing the detailed items on the dashboard, we can pop up a Webi report using parameters passed from the dashboard. In this example, we will pop up a Webi report using one input parameter from the dashboard.
A Webi report with a prompt must be set up first. In our example, the Webi report will ask for a Region parameter.
In this example, we use what is called an OpenDocument call to open up a Webi report with our desired input parameter from the dashboard.
The OpenDocument URL is quite powerful and has many options, so it is best to read the OpenDocument manual in order to fully understand what is available. You can find the URLs to retrieve the OpenDocument manual in the following See also section.
The URL Button component is used to open up an external link from the dashboard. An example of a fully constructed URL is as follows:
http://server:8080/businessobjects/BOE/OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?sIDType=CUID&iDocID=ARCpEmaZO9tBqYhkX7sh6Nw&lsSRegion=EAST
The syntax for OpenDocument in SAP BusinessObjects 4.1 is different from previous versions; however, the concept is the same. In this recipe, the OpenDocument URL was generated for SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1+.
You can find the OpenDocument guide for SAP BusinessObjects BI4.1 at http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/sbo41/en/sbo41_opendocument_en.pdf.
You can find the OpenDocument guide for SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 at http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/boexir31/en/xi3-1_url_reporting_opendocument_en.pdf.