Glossary

Ad Hoc Editor

The interactive data explorer in Community BI. Starting from a predefined collection of fields, the Ad Hoc Editor lets you drag and drop fields, dimensions, and measures to explore data and create tables, charts, and crosstabs. These Ad Hoc views can be saved as reports.

Ad Hoc View

An Ad Hoc view can be a table, chart, or crosstab and is the entry point to analysis operations such as slice and dice, drill down, and drill through. You can save an Ad Hoc view as a report in order to edit it in the interactive viewer, schedule it, or add it to a dashboard.

Aggregate Function

An aggregate function is one that is computed using a group of values; for example, Sum or Average. Aggregate functions can be used to create calculated fields in Ad Hoc views. Calculated fields containing aggregate functions cannot be used as fields or added to groups in an Ad Hoc view and should not be used as filters. Aggregate functions allow you to set a level, which specifies the scope of the calculation; level values include Current (not available for PercentOf), ColumnGroup, ColumnTotal, RowGroup, RowTotal, Total

Calculated Field

In an Ad Hoc view or a Domain, a field whose value is calculated from a user-defined formula that may include any number of fields, operators, and constants.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management.

Community BI

The Community BI System is a Business Intelligence system which allows you to interrogate your data to create charts, tables, reports and dashboards.

Community Data Solutions (CDS)

Community Data Solutions is a leading cloud based software provider operating exclusively in the Not-for-Profit sector in Australia.

Custom Field

In the Ad Hoc Editor, a field that is created through menu items as a simple function of one or two available fields, including other custom fields.

Dashboard

A collection of reports, input controls, graphics, labels, and web content displayed in a single, integrated view. Dashboards often present a high level view of your data, but input controls can parametrize the data to display. For example, you can narrow down the data to a specific date range. Embedded web content, such as other web-based applications or maps, make dashboards more interactive and functional.

Dashlet

An element in a dashboard. Dashlets are defined by editable properties that vary depending on the dashlet type. Types of dashlet include reports, text elements, filters, and external web content.

Domain

A virtual view of a data source that presents the data in business terms, allows for localization, and provides data-level security. The design of a Domain specifies tables in the database, join clauses, calculated fields, display names, and default properties, all of which define items and sets of items for creating Ad Hoc reports.

Field

A field is equivalent to a column in the relational database model. Fields originate in the structure of the data source, but you may define calculated fields in the Ad Hoc Editor. Any type of field, along with its display name and default formatting properties, may be used in the Ad Hoc Editor.

Group

In a report, a group is a set of data rows that have an identical value in a designated field. In a table, the value appears in a header and footer around the rows of the group, while the other fields appear as columns. In a chart, the field chosen to define the group becomes the independent variable on the X axis, while the other fields of each group are used to compute the dependent value on the Y axis.

Input Control

A button, check box, drop-down list, text field, or calendar icon that allows users to enter a value when running a report or viewing a dashboard that accepts input parameters.

Measure

In a report, a formula that calculates the values displayed in a table’s columns, a crosstab’s data values, or a chart’s dependent variable (such as the slices in a pie).

Parameter

Named values that are passed to the engine at report-filling time to control the data returned or the appearance and formatting of the report. A report parameter is defined by its name and type.

Pivot

To rotate a crosstab such that its row groups become column groups and its column groups become rows. In the Ad Hoc Editor, pivot a crosstab by clicking .

Properties

Settings associated with an object. The settings determine certain features of the object, such as its color and label. Properties are normally editable.

Report

A combination of a report template and data that produces a complex document for viewing, printing, or archiving information.

Repository

The tree structure of folders that contain all saved Reports, Dashboards, Ad Hoc views, and resources.