WorldShare Reports release notes, November 2024
Release Date: 10 November 2024
Introduction
This release of WorldShare Reports provides new features and enhancements. These features will help you manage more complex workflows, including:
- Utilize upgraded SAP BusinessObjects reporting platform from version 4.2 to 4.3
- Utilize the new instances manager screen to track all of your report schedules
- Favorite a report for quick retrieval and execution
Recommended actions
For this release, we recommend that you review the following checklists and complete the relevant tasks to adjust your policies and workflows and train your staff. These checklists identify updates that we have determined as significant for most institutions. We encourage you to review all of the items in the release notes to determine whether other items might require additional action or follow up by your institution.
Administrative actions
These items require immediate action or decisions.
| Action |
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Please ensure reporting staff members are aware of the interface changes by having them review these release notes and the associated training videos and documentation. The refreshed interface has relocated many reporting functions within WorldShare Reports and Report Designer. |
Follow-up actions
In an effort to keep your staff informed of new features and changes, you may also want to consider these items.
| Action |
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Compile and submit any post-release follow-up questions to our Office Hours session, which is planned for 19 November 2024, 11:00 AM EST. Register and submit questions here. |
New features and enhancements
SAP BusinessObjects platform upgrade from version 4.2 to 4.3
Getting Started
What will change?
- The look and feel of BusinessObjects is new.
- The new Instances tile provides a single place for viewing and managing scheduled reports.
- Users can schedule reports to multiple destinations in a single instance.
- Reports can be marked as favorites and accessed from the home page.
- Most actions are one-click actions (vs. double-click). E.g., navigating folders and executing reports
What will not change?
- Existing Personal and Public folders are maintained.
- All current reports are still available.
- Existing scheduled reports will maintain their current schedule
Launching reports from links in WMS
For institutions that do not have Report Designer, the interface changes will be minimal. You will continue to launch reports via the report links, and a new browser tab will open with the report results displayed. Some icons and filter locations have changed, e.g., input controls are now across the top instead of left of the report.
BI Launch Pad
When Report Designer is launched, it opens in the Folders section of the Report Launch Pad. You can easily navigate from this page to others, such as Home and Web Intelligence.
If you navigate to the Report Launch Pad Home page, it is divided into five screens, indicated by tabs at the top of the page:
- Home
- Favorites
- Recent Documents
- Recently Run (scheduled reports)
- Applications
Navigation
| Function | How to access in 4.2 | How to access in 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Folders | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad. Report Designer opens with the Documents screen and the Folders left navigation displayed by default. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad. The Folders screen opens by default. Click the Home button (  ) to access all of the other functions in BO 4.3. |
| Home | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad and then click the Home tab. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad and click the Home button () on the Folders screen. The Home screen provides tiles to access six screens, including the new Instances feature. Click a tile to access its contents. The table below maps how you currently access various Report Designer components compared with where you will access them in the upgraded Report Designer. |
| Documents | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad > Home button ( ) > Documents. |
| Instances | N/A | New feature available in version 4.3 |
| Recycle Bin | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad > Recycle Bin. | Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Report Launch Pad > Home button ( ) > Recycle Bin. |
Favorites section
The Favorites section displays tiles to open reports and folders you have marked as favorites without navigating to their saved location. If you have more favorites than can be displayed on the Report Launch Pad, it displays the most recently accessed favorites and adds a link to view all of your favorites. The image below shows the new Favorites section in Report Designer. The icon and label on the tile indicate if it is a file or folder.
Note: The Favorites section differs from the My Favorites folder in the current BusinessObjects. In 4.3, you will access your personal reports formerly saved in My Favorites by navigating to Home > Folders > Personal Folders.
Recent Documents, Recently Run (scheduled reports), and Applications sections
The Recent Documents and Recently Run (scheduled reports) sections show documents you have recently accessed. Click a tile to open the document. The Applications section is where you launch Report Designer.
If a section does not include any tiles, a message displays stating that no current items are available.
Updated Design toolbars
Report Elements functions are in the Insert section
The Insert section of the version 4.3 toolbar displays icons to insert tables, charts, and cells, along with an icon to insert a section. Click the More menu button (
) to add shared and custom elements. These options are all currently found on the toolbar's Report Elements tab.
Data Access functions are in two places
The Data Providers functions of the version 4.3 toolbar display icons to select a new data provider, edit an existing query, purge the data of a current query, refresh the current queries, and change the source of your data in Design mode. Click the Add a New Variable button (
) to access data objects that allow you to create new variables. These options are all currently found on the toolbar's Data Access tab. Also please see the updated icon for editing the data provider (your query).
Analysis functions are in the Analyze section
The Analysis functions of the version 4.3 toolbar display icons to show/hide the filter bar and formula bar. Click the More menu button () for options to drill down, show changes, track data changes, and access formatting rules. These options are all currently found on the toolbar's Analysis tab.
Page Setup functions are in two places
The Page Setup functions in version 4.3 toolbar are located in the Build side panel. Open the Build side panel, click the Appearance settings button, and then click the Display settings button or the Layout Settings button to adjust the page orientation, header, footer, margins and more. You can also click the drop-down list button for options to create a new report or a duplicate of the existing report, rename the report, or copy the link to the current report.
Formatting functions on a side panel
The Formatting functions of the version 4.3 toolbar are located on the right-hand panel. Click the wrench button, then the Show report element format button to display the buttons for Display Settings, Appearance Settings, and Layout Settings. These options are all currently found on the toolbar's Formatting tab.
Note: The table and cell formatting options are also available by right-clicking on the element and using the contextual menu.
Main Toolbar changes (for Reading)
The Main toolbar in version 4.3 has been simplified. As a result, some of the options are now only visible via drop-down lists and More menu buttons.
- The ability to save and export a report is in the File section of the Main toolbar.
- The option to refresh/run a report is located in the Query section.
Folder management features
Version 4.3 includes new options to make managing folders easier while maintaining the same access structure. New features include:
- Breadcrumbs showing the folder hierarchy to aid in navigation.
- A More menu button with options to view folder Properties, mark a folder as a favorite, get folder details, cut/copy the folder, and delete the folder.
The version 4.3 folder display is similar to the existing folder display, with the folder structure in the left-hand panel and the folder content in the main panel. Each folder listed in the main panel now has a More menu button, allowing you to easily perform actions on the folder.
Managing open reports
Reports opened from the Report Launch Pad no longer open in separate Web Intelligence windows by default. Instead, they open within the current application window unless the user preferences change. Click the page header drop-down list to view the open documents. Click a document to open it, or click the X to close it.
Prompts dialog box changes
The Prompts dialog box that displays when running/refreshing a report that includes data prompts has a new look and feel. There is also a change in how data values are selected. Rather than moving values from one column to another, values are selected using checkboxes. This allows you to quickly select multiple values.
Input Control pane
The Input Controls pane, which allows users to add, edit, or remove input controls, has been moved from the left side of the Report Designer UI to the right side under the Build side panel.
You can adjust report elements by clicking the Edit button.
In Reading mode, input control selections are now across the top of the report instead of on the left side.
Report scheduling changes
The interface for scheduling reports has been updated. Scheduling options are now grouped under two menus:
- General - This menu contains the options for Instance Title, Recurrence, Events, Scheduling Server Group, and Destinations.
- Report Features - This menu contains the options for Prompts, Formats, and Delivery Rules.
Note that you can now use multiple destinations for your scheduled reports, Default Enterprise Location and File System (which sends files to My Files in WMS).
Note: When selecting File System to deliver your scheduled reports to My Files, you must select the Use default settings checkbox to ensure your files get delivered.
Utilize new instances manager screen to track your report schedules
New instances feature for managing report schedules
A new Instances tile provides a single place for viewing and managing scheduled reports. It displays an overview of all scheduled reports that you have run and provides their status. Within Instances, you can filter by date, instance status, document type, or title.
Favorite a report for quick retrieval and execution
Applying a favorite indicator to your most utilized reports
There are multiple locations where you can set a report or folder as a favorite. These will then appear as a tile in the Favorites section of the Home page.
Important links
Post-release session
To help you address any questions you may have with the new features, enhancements, and improvements included in this release, there is an Office Hours session scheduled. Please note the session time zone when registering. The session will be recorded and archived for future viewing on the OCLC Community Center. Please register, even if you cannot attend, to receive a link to the recorded session.
WorldShare Reports and Report Designer post-release Office Hours session
Date: 19 November 2024, 11:00 AM EST
Registration: Register here
Support website(s)
Support information for this product and related products can be found at: