OutputInput Contexts in Formulas For WebIntelligence and BusinessObjects

WebIntelligence version 6
Output/Input Contexts in Formulas for WebIntelligence and

BusinessObjects
Overview
The ability to define complex formulas in either WebIntelligence or
BusinessObjects reports is one of the very powerful features of these products.
This document provides additional explanation on how to do this, including
many examples.
This document should be read by advanced report creators who have already
mastered the basics of report writing.
Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 3
WHAT ARE CALCULATION CONTEXTS ............................................................ 3
HOW TO CHECK RESULTS ............................................................................ 3
The Input Context and the Measure.............................................................4
Filters................................................................................................................. 4
Simplification of the Output context.................................................................. 4
Output context ................................................................................................... 4
Application of the Aggregation function ........................................................... 5
Report this variable in your report ..................................................................... 6
#MULTIVALUE ............................................................................................ 6
CONTEXT OPERATORS (IN, FOREACH, FORALL)........................................... 6
EXTENDED SYNTAX KEYWORDS.................................................................... 7
In Report ......................................................................................................7
In Section .....................................................................................................7
In Block........................................................................................................8
In Break .......................................................................................................8
In Body.........................................................................................................9
DEFAULT CALCULATION CONTEXTS .............................................................. 9
Vertical and Horizontal tables.....................................................................9
Cross Tables ..............................................................................................10
Section........................................................................................................11
Break..........................................................................................................12
MEASURE WITHOUT EXPLICIT AGGREGATION FUNCTION .............................. 13
=<REVENUE> IN (<COUNTRY>) ................................................................. 13
10/1/2004 12:39 PM Copyright © 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. Page 1
WebIntelligence version 6 Output/Input Contexts in Formulas for WebIntelligence and
BusinessObjects
FINDING MORE INFORMATION .................................................................... 15
BusinessObjects
Introduction
Before you can define a specific calculation context, you must first understand
how calculation contexts work.
What are calculation contexts

Calculation contexts give you more control over how a formula or measure is
evaluated. To understand them, you must be familiar with basic report concepts.
A report contains two kinds of objects:
• Dimensions - Types of data about your business that can have measures
associated with them (for example: products, years, and states)
• Measures - You can calculate them in relation to dimensions (for example:
<Sales revenue> and <Number of sales>). For example, a report could show
<Sales revenue> (measure) by <Year> (dimension).
The important thing to remember about measures is that they are semantically
dynamic. This means that the figures returned by a measure depend on the
dimensions with which it is associated; in other words, on the context in which
it is placed.
WebIntelligence/BusinessObjects (from now on we will only refer to

WebIntelligence) places each measure in its default context depending on where
they appear in the report. However, you can change this default context. This is
what is meant by defining the calculation context.
You can see default contexts by creating a block containing <Year> and <Sales
Revenue> objects. In this case, the <Sales Revenue> object returns the revenue
by year, because the revenue is evaluated in the context of the <Year>
dimension. If you then add the <Quarter> dimension to the block, then the
figures in the <Sales Revenue> column change because the default context is
now <Year> and <Quarter>. From this you can see that when you place a
measure or formula in a block, the default calculation context that
WebIntelligence applies includes all the dimensions in the block.
How to check results

Each measure is evaluated by an input and output context. With an explicit
expression, the general syntax is:
Aggregate_function (Measure_Object In (Input_Context) ) In

(Output_Context)
Where:
• Aggregate_function: Sum, Max, Min, Count, Average, Median, etc.

• Measure_Object: a formula or a variable; e.g., <Revenue>
• Input_Context and Output_Context: dimension(s) to evaluate the measure
BusinessObjects
Here is an example on how to evaluate the following formula:
=Max(<Revenue> In (<Country> ,<Year>) ) In (<Country >, <Resort>)
• Aggregate_function: Max
• Measure_Object: <Revenue>
• Input_Context: (<Country>, <Year>)
• Output_Context: (<Country >, <Resort>)
The Input Context and the Measure

We evaluate the measure in the input context. It means that we create a vertical
table with input context dimension(s) and the measure objects selected.
Country Year Revenue

France FY00 259,170.00
France FY98 295,940.00
France FY99 280,310.00
US FY00 856,560.00
US FY98 767,614.00
US FY99 826,930.00
Filters
A global filter or report filter should be applied.
If your formula is in a block, then you should also apply block filters, except if
you use “In Section” in your input context definition.
Simplification of the Output context

In the output context, we remove all dimensions that are not in the input context.
For example, if we have the following defined:
• Input_Context: (<Country> ,<Year>)

• Output_Context: (<Country>, <Resort >)
Then the Output_Context becomes only (<Country>).
Output context
On the previous block, we will create a break, based on the output context
dimensions.
If the output context is In Report or with no dimension, then breaks are not
necessary.
BusinessObjects

France FY00 259,170.00
FY98 295,940.00
FY99 280,310.00
France

US FY00 856,560.00
FY98 767,614.00
FY99 826,930.00
US
Application of the Aggregation function

We can apply the aggregation function on the measure, Max(Revenue) in the
example below:

France FY00 259,170.00
FY98 295,940.00
FY99 280,310.00
France Maximum: 295,940.00

US FY00 856,560.00
FY98 767,614.00
FY99 826,930.00
US Maximum: 856,560.00
Only one value is returned for each group of dimensions; in our case, one
Max(Revenue) value by <Country>.
If the output context is In Report or with no dimension, then you obtain only one
value in the table footer. The value is: 856,560.00.
=Max(<Revenue> in (<Country> ,<Year>) ) in Report

France FY00 259,170.00
France FY98 295,940.00
France FY99 280,310.00
US FY00 856,560.00
US FY98 767,614.00
US FY99 826,930.00
Maximum: 856,560.00
BusinessObjects
Report this variable in your report

For each group of values Country-Resort, one result is returned (see the last
column):
Max(<Revenue> In
Country Resort Revenue (<Country> ,<Year>) ) In
(<Country>, <Resort>)
France French Riviera 835,420.00 295,940.00
US Bahamas Beach 971,444.00 856,560.00
US Hawaiian Club 1,479,660.00 856,560.00
#MultiValue
Sometimes, instead of getting the correct value in a formula, a #MultiValue
result is returned. This can happen if the application cannot calculate the
formula for a corresponding group of values.
In the previous example, if you would put the formula in the table header, then
you obtain #MultiValue:
Country Resort Revenue #MULTIVALUE

France French Riviera 295,940.00 295,940.00
US Bahamas Beach 856,560.00 856,560.00
US Hawaiian Club 856,560.00 856,560.00
This happens because there are two possible values to calculate Max(Revenue)
for: one for US and one for France. The system does not know which one to use.
Context operators (In, ForEach, ForAll)

In the examples so far, we specified input and output contexts by using the
reserved word “In”, then listing dimensions to be included in the context. “In” is
known as context operator. The other context operators are “ForEach” and
“ForAll”.
The following table describes the three context operators:
In Used to specify dimensions explicitly. Also used with

extended syntax keywords.
ForEach Adds dimensions to the context.
ForAll Removes dimensions from the context.
ForAll and ForEach are used to modify a context by adding or removing

dimension(s). This has been designed to modify the default context. The context
operators can be used as input or output context.
BusinessObjects
We can transform a formula to evaluate a ForEach clause to an In clause as in

the following examples:
is equivalent to:
In (<Country>,<Resort>,<Year>) ForAll (<Country>) In (<Resort>,<Year>)
In (<Country>,<Resort>,<Year>) ForEach (<Quarter>) In (<Country>,<Resort>,<Year>, <Quarter>)
In (<Country>,<Resort>,<Year>) ForAll (<Country>, In (<Resort>,<Year>)
<Service>)
In (<Country>,<Resort>,<Year>) ForEach In (<Country>,<Resort>,<Year>, <Quarter>)
(<Country>,<Quarter>)
Extended syntax keywords

Extended syntax keywords are a form of “shorthand” that allows you to refer to
dimensions in extended syntax without specifying those dimensions explicitly.
This helps future-proof reports; if formulas do not contain hard-coded references

to dimensions, then they will continue to work even if dimensions are added to
or removed from a report.
There are five extended syntax keywords: Report, Section, Break, Block, and
Body
In Report
“In Report” means “All data in the report”.
<Revenue> In Report
This means that we evaluate the measure without dimension. We create a report
with only a cell containing “=<Revenue>”.
The equivalent is: In () - with no dimension(s). For example:
is equivalent to:
In Report ForEach (<Resort>,<Year>) In (<Resort>,<Year>)
In (<Resort>,<Year>) ForAll (<Resort>,<Year>) In Report
In Section
We work with the value of a Section. The equivalent is:
In (CurrentSection + Upper Section Dimensions)
If not “In Section”, then it equals “In Report”.
BusinessObjects
It is similar to “In Block”, but Ignore Block Filter
For example, if we have two sections on <Year> and <Quarter>:
is equivalent to:
In Section (in section Year) In (<Year>)
In Section (in section Quarter) In (<Year>, <Quarter>)
In Section ForEach (<Resort>) In (<Year>, <Resort>)
(in section Year)
In Block
We work with the value of a Block. The equivalent is:
ForAll (All Block Dimension)

It is similar as “In Section”, but Respect Block Filter
For example, if we have a block containing <Country>, <Resort>, and a section

on <Year>:
is equivalent to:
In Block In (<Country>, <Resort>,<Year>) ForAll (<Country>, <Resort>)
Equals:
In (<Year>)
In Block ForEach (<Resort>) In (<Year>, <Resort>)
In Break
You use it inside a break and the equivalent is:
In (All Break Dimensions + Section Dimension)

For example, if we have a block with <Year>, <Quarter>, <Service>, and breaks
on <Year> and <Quarter>, and a section on <Country>:
is equivalent to:
In Break In (<Country>, <Quarter>,<Year>)
BusinessObjects
In Body
“In Body” is the default input context.
When placed in... References this data...
A block (body, header, or footer) Dimensions in the block (In (All Block Dimensions) )
A block break (header or footer) Dimensions in the block (In (All Block Dimensions) )
A section (header, footer, or outside a block) Dimensions in the section (In Section ?????)
Outside any blocks or sections Section Dimensions in the report (All Sections Dimension)
Default calculation contexts

Vertical and Horizontal tables
We study a table (<Resort>, <Year>, <Revenue>, and Max(Revenue) ) in a
<Country> section:
When your Input Context Output Context

calculation is
…
The dimensions used to generate the body of All Section dimensions, if no section
the block then “in Report”
Header or (All block dimensions + Section dimensions)
Footer E.g.: In (<Country>)
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Country>)
The dimensions used to generate the body of Same as Input Context

the block
(All block dimensions + Section dimensions) The dimensions used to generate the
Body body of the block
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Country>) (All block dimensions + Section
dimensions)
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Country>)
BusinessObjects
Cross Tables
We study a cross table (Columns: Year, Quarter, Rows: Resort, Body: Revenue)
in a <Country> section.
BusinessObjects

calculation is …
Body The dimensions used to generate the Same as Input Context
block
(All block dimensions + section The dimensions used to generate the
dimensions) body of the block
(All block dimensions + section
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, dimensions)
<Country>)
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>,
<Country>)
VBody Header or The dimensions used to generate the The dimensions used to generate the
VBody Footer block rows of the block
(All block dimensions + section (All rows dimensions + section
dimensions) dimensions)
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Country>)

<Country>)
HBody Header or The dimensions used to generate the The dimensions used to generate the
HBody Footer block columns of the block
(All block dimensions + section (All Column dimensions + section
dimensions) dimensions)
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, E.g.: In (<Year>, <Quarter>, <Country>)

<Country>)
Header or The dimensions used to generate the All Section dimensions, if no section
Footer or VFooter or block then “in Report”
HFooter (All block dimensions + section
dimensions) E.g.: In (<Country>)

<Country>)
Section
A section may have: Header, Footer, and Body. We will study a free cell
Max(Revenue) with the <Country> and <Year> sections:
BusinessObjects

calculation is …
Body / Header / The dimensions used to generate all Current section dimension + previous
Footer sections ones
(All section dimensions)
E.g.:
E.g.: In (<Year>, <Country>) • Section Year: In (<Year>,
<Country>)
• Section Country: In (<Country>)
• Main section : In Report
Break
We study a table (Resort, Year, Quarter, Revenue, Max(Revenue) ) with two
breaks on Year then Quarter and a <Country> section.

calculation is …
Break Header or The dimensions used to generate the All section dimensions + current breaks dimension
Break Footer body of the block + previous break dimension
(All block dimensions + section
dimensions) E.g.:
• Break Quarter: In (<Country>, <Year>,
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, <Quarter>)
<Country>) • Break Year: In (<Country>, <Year>)
BusinessObjects
Break Body Equal Table Body Same as Input Context
The dimensions used to generate the The dimensions used to generate the body of the
body of the block block
(All block dimensions + section (All block dimensions + section dimensions)
dimensions)
E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, <Country>)
<Country>)
Measure without explicit aggregation function

=<Revenue> in (<Country>)
The issue is how to evaluate a measure (generally a variable that comes from a
data provider or the variable editor).
A measure may have a default aggregation function. For a measure that comes
from a data provider, the aggregation function is set in the universe as a property
of the measure object. The different aggregation functions are: Sum, Max, Min,
Average, Count, and None.
BusinessObjects
In BusinessObjects, you can see it in the DataManager:
For a document variable, generally, it’s SUM also.
When your calculation is … Extended syntax

General Syntax
=<My Measure> = Agg_function(<My Measure> in Body) in Body

=<My Measure> in OutPutContext = Agg_function(<My Measure> in Body) in OutPutContext
=<Revenue> =Sum(<Revenue> in Body )
=<Revenue> in (<Country>) =Sum(<Revenue> in Body ) in (<Country>)
BusinessObjects
Finding More Information

For more information and resources, refer to the product documentation and
visit the support area of the web site at: www.businessobjects.com
1. BusinessObjects Advanced Query Building Techniques Guide

(businessobjects_advanced.pdf), Chapter 1, “Understanding Calculation
Contexts“
2. WebIntelligence User’s Guide, Chapter 21, “Creating Custom
Calculations”, “Defining the Calculation context”, and “Creating Custom
calculation”
3. BusinessObjects User’s Guide: Accessing Data and Data Analysis, Chapter
15, “Calculation Contexts and Extended Syntax”
www.businessobjects.com
Business Objects owns the following U.S. patents, which may cover products that are offered and sold by Business
Objects: 5,555,403, 6,247,008 B1, 6,578,027 B2, 6,490,593 and 6,289,352. Business Objects, the Business Objects
logo, Crystal Reports, and Crystal Enterprise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects SA or its
affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks
of their respective owners. Product specifications and program conditions are subject to change without notice.
Copyright © 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved.

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WebIntelligence version 6

Output/Input Contexts in Formulas for WebIntelligence and

FINDING MORE INFORMATION .................................................................... 15

What are calculation contexts

A report contains two kinds of objects:

WebIntelligence/BusinessObjects (from now on we will only refer to

How to check results

Aggregate_function (Measure_Object In (Input_Context) ) In

• Aggregate_function: Sum, Max, Min, Count, Average, Median, etc.

Here is an example on how to evaluate the following formula:

=Max(<Revenue> In (<Country> ,<Year>) ) In (<Country >, <Resort>)

The Input Context and the Measure

Country Year Revenue

Simplification of the Output context

• Input_Context: (<Country> ,<Year>)

Country Year Revenue

Country Year Revenue

Application of the Aggregation function

Country Year Revenue

Country Year Revenue

=Max(<Revenue> in (<Country> ,<Year>) ) in Report

Country Year Revenue

Report this variable in your report

Country Resort Revenue #MULTIVALUE

Context operators (In, ForEach, ForAll)

The following table describes the three context operators:

In Used to specify dimensions explicitly. Also used with

ForEach Adds dimensions to the context.

ForAll Removes dimensions from the context.

ForAll and ForEach are used to modify a context by adding or removing

We can transform a formula to evaluate a ForEach clause to an In clause as in

Extended syntax keywords

This helps future-proof reports; if formulas do not contain hard-coded references

The equivalent is: In () - with no dimension(s). For example:

In Report ForEach (<Resort>,<Year>) In (<Resort>,<Year>)

In (<Resort>,<Year>) ForAll (<Resort>,<Year>) In Report

In (CurrentSection + Upper Section Dimensions)

If not “In Section”, then it equals “In Report”.

It is similar to “In Block”, but Ignore Block Filter

For example, if we have two sections on <Year> and <Quarter>:

In Section (in section Year) In (<Year>)

In Section (in section Quarter) In (<Year>, <Quarter>)

In Section ForEach (<Resort>) In (<Year>, <Resort>)

(in section Year)

ForAll (All Block Dimension)

For example, if we have a block containing <Country>, <Resort>, and a section

In Block In (<Country>, <Resort>,<Year>) ForAll (<Country>, <Resort>)

In Block ForEach (<Resort>) In (<Year>, <Resort>)

In (All Break Dimensions + Section Dimension)

In Break In (<Country>, <Quarter>,<Year>)

When placed in... References this data...

Default calculation contexts

When your Input Context Output Context

The dimensions used to generate the body of Same as Input Context

E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Country>)

When your Input Context Output Context

E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Country>)

E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>, E.g.: In (<Year>, <Quarter>, <Country>)

E.g.: In (<Resort>, <Year>, <Quarter>,

When your Input Context Output Context

When your Input Context Output Context

Break Body Equal Table Body Same as Input Context