Tag Archive for: add-in

Thanks for all the great feedback on our Essbase Add-in Ribbon!  I have seen praise and thanks on the Oracle forums, network54, and a number of other popular hotspots.  I am constantly getting emails of gratitude.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of Hyperion customers are using the ribbon.  With the accolades, I am also getting some great suggestions for additional functionality.  In the spirit of giving back to the Hyperion community, I have every intention of implementing these requests.

What is new for the second release of the ribbon?  For those of you who used the Essbase Powerbar, you are aware of the option to save commonly used server connections.  I am happy to announce that it is now part of the In2Hyperion Essbase Add-in Ribbon feature set!

We moved the connection button that existed on the right, to the first button on the ribbon and renamed it Quick Connect.  From this menu button, users can select connect, add quick connection, or remove quick connection.  As connections are added, they will appear automatically in the Quick Connect menu.

The benefit of this option is that a user can select a “quick connection,” which remembers the server, application, database, username, and password.  Connecting to an Essbase application requires fewer clicks and less typing.  After quick connections are added, a file in My Documents named In2Hyperion.txt will exist.  This is where the connection information is stored.  The password is encrypted to ensure your information is not made available to other parties.

Download version 2.  To stay informed about future releases by signing up for our newsletter.  If you have any feedback, send us an email through the contact page.  Thanks again for all your support!

 

Many of the Hyperion Planning and Essbase users still prefer to use the Essbase Add-In in conjunction with, or in place of, SmartView. As you probably already know, deploying the Essbase Add-In in version 11 has challenges. There is over 2GB of data that is required and the installtool.cmd file is not a simple installation that most users can administer without help. Because of the size, deploying it in a distributed package is extremely challenging. There are some instructions on various BLOGs that explain a way to deploy it manually, with edits to the registry. Any time I work with a client and mention editing the registry outside an automated install, this option is quickly disregarded.

In version 11.1.2, Oracle|Hyperion has added a self contained executable for the Essbase Add-In! The download is located in the Hyperion Essbase’s download page.

 

Many people use Custom Lists in Excel – sometimes without even knowing.  If you have ever typed January into a cell and used autofill (click the dark plus sign, and drag across other cells) to create February through December, you have used Custom Lists.

Excel has a few Custom Lists setup for users when it is installed. Select the Tools / Options menu, and display the Custom Lists tab to view them.  Users can create their own Custom Lists in this dialog box by entering a list separated by commas or importing a range of cells that already includes a list.

For Essbase users who use the Hyperion Spreadsheet Add-In or SmartView, this can become a valuable tool.  Many times Essbase users will want to display a specific list of accounts, measures, products, etc.  Rather than selecting these from the member selection, or typing them, Custom Lists can be created and used to reduce the effort.

Let’s assume a user is responsible for a subset of the existing products and those products are only sold in a few of the markets.  The user may spend a lot of time creating the market list every time they create a new retrieve.  If the user creates a Custom List, they can automate this selection process.  A Custom List might include the following members.

Columbus,Cincinnati,Los Angeles,Tempe,Dallas,Austin,Seattle,Denver,Nashville

All the user has to do now is type Columbus in the first cell and use the autofill to list the rest of the markets.  This function can save those who frequently create add hoc reports a lot of time.

Custom Lists can be created for just about anything, are easy and quick to create, and are useful in a variety of situations.  www.In2Hyperion.com is not just for those in a technical capacity.  User related ideas, such as using Custom Lists, will become more prevalent on this site.  Sign up for our newsletter and receive notifications when more Excel tips for Essbase users become available.