Dashboard Objects pane

Column

Used to align content on a dashboard. (Sections within columns hold the actual content.) You can create as many columns on a dashboard page as you need, and you can place columns on a dashboard horizontally or vertically. Note that the columns used in the Dashboard builder are not related to the columns used in the Analysis editor.

Section

Used within columns to hold the content, such as action links, analyses, and so on. You can drag and drop as many sections as you require for a column.

Alert Section

Used to add a section in which to display Alerts from agents, if any.

On users' My Dashboard, an Alert section is added automatically to the first page, if you do not manually place one there. You cannot disable the appearance of an Alert section on the first page of users' My Dashboard. You can add an Alert section to an additional dashboard page so that section is then displayed on both dashboard pages.

Action Link

Used to add an action link. An action link is a link that you embed in an analysis, dashboard page, or KPI that, when clicked, runs an associated action.

For more information, see Chapter 10, "Working with Actions."

Action Link Menu

Used to add an action link menu. An action link menu let users choose, from a list of action links, the right action to be executed.

For more information, see Chapter 10, "Working with Actions."

Tip: If you add an action link to an action link menu and later decide that you do not want the link to be displayed in the menu, you can simply drag and drop it elsewhere on the page.

Link or Image

Used to add text links and image links and specify what should happen when a user clicks them. For example, you can direct users to another web site or dashboard, open documents, launch applications, or perform any other action that the browser supports. You can also add an image or text only, without any links.

Embedded Content

Used to add embedded content. Embedded content is any content that is displayed within a window (called a frame) inside the dashboard, as opposed to content that is accessed by clicking a link. Content that you might want to embed includes analyses, Excel charts, documents, web sites, tickers from web sites, and so on. When you embed content into a dashboard, the required HTML is automatically added to the target content.

Analyses are embedded by default. Embedding an analysis in a dashboard causes it to execute automatically and to display the results within the dashboard. This provides access to current results.

Note: Some third-party web sites, because of the way they have been created, cannot be embedded within another web page. If you see unexpected results when viewing an embedded web site, then you might need to click the browser's Back button until an Oracle Business Intelligence screen reappears, or close and then reopen the browser. Then, remove the embedded web site from the dashboard.

Text

Used to add plain text or, if allowed at your organization, HTML.

See the administrator to find out if adding HTML is allowed at your organization.

To add embedded content, which is content that is displayed in a window within the browser, then use the Embedded Content object instead. Then, using the Embedded Content feature, specify the name and location of the target, and the required HTML is wrapped around the target for you.

Folder

Used to add a view of a Catalog folder and its contents. For example, you might add a folder that contains a collection of saved analyses that you run frequently. Then from the dashboard, you can open the folder, navigate to a saved request, and click it to run it.