Elements of an Ad Hoc View

The following repository objects provide a prepared connection to a data connection for Ad Hoc view creation:

• Topics: JRXML files created externally and uploaded to Zoola™ as a basis for Ad Hoc views.

• Data Sources: virtual views of a data source that present the data in business terms, allowing for localization and providing data-level security.

The Ad Hoc Editor contains the following panels, from left to right:

• Data Source: [Data Source Data Connection Name]: contains the fields, dimensions, and measures available in the source Data Sources and/or Topic.

• Ad Hoc View: the main view design panel.

• Filters: Which defines a subset of data to retrieve from the data source.

You can also open and edit an existing Ad Hoc view to create a new Ad Hoc view.

Data Sources

Administrators create Data Sources that typically filter the data, create input controls, and manage the list of available fields and measures. A Data Source 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 views.

To begin designing a Data Source-based view, complete the following steps:

1. From the Home page, navigate to Ad Hoc Views > Create New.

2. In the Select Data wizard, select a Data Source.

3. Click the Choose Data button, opening the Choose Data page.

4. From the Choose Data page, navigate through the left-panel options and perform the following tasks:

   1. Click Fields to select fields of data to use in the view.

   2. Click Pre-Filters to create filters to limit the data available in the Ad Hoc Editor.

   3. Click Display to change the fields' display names.

   4. Click the Save as Topic button to save the customized Data Source Topic for later use.

You can now begin working on your view in the Ad Hoc Editor.