How to Set up WRS Report with BI Dashboard Parameter

[deleted_user]

I have a BI Dashboard that shows a Complaint Type and a metric, and in BI Dashboard I can link to a WRS report to show the list of complaints of that complaint type that make up the metric; I can also pass the WRS Report a parameter - in this case - Complaint Type.

How do I set up the WRS Report so it will except the Complaint Type and filter the complaints based on the passed complaint type?

Do I use a filter that has user input setting, that prompts users to type in values?

Can I pass more than one parameter (critical or non-critical complaint)?

Does anyone know where this may be explained in documentation?

Thanks!

[Jenn2]

Hello tries,
I'm not an expert in WRS but there is extra documentation provided through tech support called "SAS Notes." http://support.sas.com/notes/index.html. The keywords “passing the prompt in WRS” pulls up some information.

There is also information from the other threads that may help. For example, "Types of sources that can be linked” talks about report linking and “Linking Reports” talks about passing prompts.

I hope this can get you started until someone else chimes in.

[AngelaHall]

To pass a filter to a WRS report, in the 'Links' tab of the BI Dashboard Indicator, you will need to specify the report name and then add a parameter. (See the Define the Links pg: http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/bidbrdug/61856/HTML/default/indicatornew.htm#n1inog0ruoo...

The key trick is that this parameter MUST have the exact same name as what is DISPLAYED to the user in the prompt (the 'Displayed Text' field). I copied & pasted from the Prompt in Information Map into the BI Dashboard Indictor screen, as spaces, cap letters, etc might not allow the match to occur (course, I didnt test that - but to eliminate any issues this seemed like the best approach).

Note - I was unable to get this parameter passing to work when the WRS report itself contained a custom prompt. I had to create a prompt in the Information Map.

Also - There is a known bug with this functionality in SAS 9.2M2. If you are at that version, set the BI Dashboard indicator link screen to open the link in 'New Window', then from the Portal view, click the parameter two times (just ignore the first screen), then the report will pass the parameter. This is fixed in 9.2M3.


~Angela Hall
http://sas-bi.blogspot.com

[deleted_user]

Thanks for your insights - I will try what you suggest and let you know how it goes.

[deleted_user]

Angela:

Thanks again for your insights - they are greatly appreciated. However, I am still struggling. I am using 9.1.3 still. In the BI Dashboard Link tab, you indicate that I must be careful about populating the values under the link parameter section. I have been unsuccessful in getting this to work, because I don’t think I am interpreting your instructions correctly. So I want to make sure I have it very clear, if you don't mind giving me some more explicit advice:

Target Field:
a. When you populate the Dashboard Link Tab, I assume you mean the careful part is the “Name” parameter in the lower left of the BI Dashboard Link tab, not the Data Point Lookup field on the lower right, correct?


Source Field:

a. The source of this text should be from the prompt-based filter I set up in the Information Map of the WRS Report, not the BI Dashboard Indicator, correct?

b. On the edit filter properties form, after you select the Edit button you get the Edit Filter form, and there are several filter types to choose from (first drop down under “Value(s)”): “prompt user for value(s)” is the proper choice, correct?

c. It seems like you said there is “Display Text” field to use as a source (to copy/paste from), but I could not locate this field, so I used the following fields with no success – is it one of these 1-5 below you used, or could you be very explicit which one it was:

When you first select the filter in Information Map, you get the Filter Properties Form, which has two candidate fields there (these are also on the Edit Filter form, above):
1. Filter Properties Form: Filter Name:
2. Filter Properties Form: Description:

Other options include drilling into editing the properties: select Edit button on the Filter Properties Form, then select the Edit Prompt, you get the Prompt Properties Form:
3. Prompt Properties Form: Prompt Name:
4. Prompt Properties Form: Description:
5. Prompt Properties Form: Prompt text:

[AngelaHall]

I was referring to 9.2 settings in my prior post. I currently do not have an 9.1.3 environment to check out what the similar settings are. Until then - here is my notes:

In 9.2 the two settings (in BI Dashboard Indicator Links tab) are Name and Data Point Lookup. I don't remember this changing significantly between the two versions.

~ The 'Name' (on lower left) is the link to the prompt & this must match exactly with the prompt display name defined in the information map.
~ The data point lookup references the data value that will be passed into the prompt.

The Information Map prompt has a 'Displayed Text' value that is what the Web Report Studio user sees in the prompt when running the report. I think this corresponds to what you referenced in 9.1.3 as "5. Prompt Properties Form: Prompt text: " This text must be used in the BI Dashboard link parameter 'Name' field to then pass the data value into that prompt.

The trick is two fold:
1. the 'prompt text' value in imap must match exactly with the link parameter 'name'
2. the data value being passed between the two systems must exactly match (so sashelp.shoes region=Africa on the dashboard must also equal region=Africa within the imap prompted filter.) If you are using two different data sources for the Dashboard and the IMAP - you'll need to be sure there are 0 data differences for this parameter pass to work. (spaces, capital letters, etc could through this match off)

~ Angela Hall
http://sas-bi.blogspot.com Message was edited by: Angela Hall

[deleted_user]

Angela:

Thanks so much for providing feedback. I tried and tried with what you suggested, but still was not successful. So I submitted my problem to tech support and essentially what I am trying they say can't be done in 9.1.3:

"Web Report Studio 3.1 is not capable of accepting parameters passed from another application. With SAS9.2/BID4.2/WRS4.2 we do have that capability.
For SAS9.1.3/BID3.1, the only application that can accept parameters is Stored Processes."

My 9.1.3 training notes do not have enough detail and I could not find this statement in the 9.1 user guide materials.

Do you remember if you were able to make BI Dashboard and WRS work together but it was thru a stored process?

Thanks again!

[AngelaHall]

My apologies. My examples were for 9.2 and as I mentioned, I don't have a 9.1.3 environment to check things in.

Another individual also asked about parameters in 9.1.3 around the BI Dashboard and WRS. You could feasibly have everything run in WRS and the resulting report be a dashboard element (executed via stored process) - this would remove BI Dashboard application altogether.

SAS Samples include a STP for several different indicator types here: http://support.sas.com/kb/26/134.html

Pg 19 of a WRS paper I completed has some screenshots for how to insert a SAS Stored Process into the WRS report:
http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/forum2007/212-2007.pdf

~ Angela Hall
http://sas-bi.blogspot.com

[Shane_Gibson]

We had a number of customers with the same problem in SAS 9.1.3 so we ended up building an additional custom module that allowed both WRS and WRV to accept parameters automatically from an external source.