The most fundamental functionality in Discover relates to navigating data models and cubes to build queries and data visualizations. If this is the foundational aspect of Discover (which in turn drives Present dashboards, Publish reports, and Illustrate infographics), then it follows that navigating and querying data is one of the key elements in Pyramid.
Given its importance, Discover offers an extensive set of tools and capabilities to navigate data and build data queries from point-and-click simplicity, all the way through to advanced analytical tools and wizards for deep sophistication. When combined with the business logic designer tools of Formulate and the deep power of the underlying query languages (PQL / SQL and MDX), there are an endless number of options to answering business questions and driving data-driven decisions.
Building Blocks
The help in this section is structured around the building blocks of Discover needed to navigate data and build queries.
Building Queries
This section covers the most basic and elemental aspects of building queries and reports.
- Metadata Access: This focuses on the use of data model metadata and its related tools (like the element and hierarchy trees).
- Drop Zones: This focuses on building queries and visualizations through the use of "drop zones" - which act as both a selection and positioning engine of data elements
- Visualizations: This focuses on how to construct and use the main data visualization families via drop zones and selections.
Changing Queries
This section covers the techniques for manipulating the basic elements of a query or report.
- Query Interactions:This focuses on making fast, direct changes to a query interactively based on the position of the cursor (context).
- Query Functions: This focuses on making more comprehensive changes to a query through the use of wizards, dialogs and settings.
- Advanced Query Functions: This focuses on designing and applying advanced analytical and statistical techniques to the query and its result set to show deeper insights around the data set.
Calculations
This section covers the techniques for adding business logic to queries and reports to show new logical values not exposed in the data itself or via the visualization.
- Quick Calculations: This focuses on fast, interactive calculation options to build business logic 'on the fly'.
- Context Calculations: This focuses on building calculations that use the context of the report (or query) to determine its formulation and operation.
- Granular Calculations: This focuses on building calculations that affect the grain of a query - rather than its aggregate.
Formatting & Design
Once the core aspects of a query and its associated report are resolved, most users and consumers of the content would like to see specific graphical formatting elements applied. This is covered in the visualization formatting section.