OBIEE: Default Answers Template? After trying out the lazyweb method of search (aka Twitter) and not getting much help, I resorted to help at the OTN OBIEE Forum. It's not Twitter's fault, I think this problem was a bit too complex to describe in 140 characters.

Here's the post on OTN. I started to get nervous too, I posted on Friday and hadn't had a response...until today. 3 days? Man...that's way too long!

Here's the short of it.

Our reports were coming out funny. Dimension column headings had one style and the Fact table column headings had another.



Using Firebug, I could easily isolate the sections.

On the Dimension column, the definition looked like this:

<th  
  class="ColumnHdg" 
  style="background-color: rgb(231, 231, 247); font-size: 9px; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);" 
  scope="col" 
  dir="ltr">Product Desc
</th>

The Fact table column was defined as:

<th 
  class="ColumnHdg" 
  scope="col" 
  dir="ltr">Basis Amount
</th>

Note the style attribute...that overrides any class settings. Very annoying.

I thought it would be relatively simple to fix. I worked with custom messages before, this had to be similar. So I began to "grep" the messages directory

c:\oraclebi\web\msgdb\>findstr /i /m /s /c:"background-color" *.*

Nothing.

How about looking for the name of the class, ColumnHdg?

c:\oraclebi\web\msgdb\>findstr /i /m /s /c:"columnhdg" *.*
messages\criteriatemplates.xml
messages\formattemplates.xml
messages\mktgadminuitemplates.xml
messages\mktgcommontemplates.xml
messages\mktglistformattemplates.xml
messages\mktgsegmenttemplates.xml

So I start with criteriatemplates.xml and find the reference to columnHdg (just now realizing that the case doesn't match...oh well). That was part of the WebMessage kuiColumnFormulaEditor. So I searched for that...

You see where I'm going.

That lead me to the javascript files (of which there are tons). Nothing...not a single thing that could possibly be adding this style attribute.

That's when I mapped the dev server drive to my local computer and opened up WinMerge

I then began to compare every single file in both the msgdb and res (javascript) folders. I would then compare the files that were different to see if that could be the cause. Still...nothing.

I had looked in the webcat before, but couldn't find anything of global significance. I was headed back there though since I had lost hope with custom messages and/or javascript.

Then I got a message from the OTN Forum Administrator...could it be? Looked at the name of the person who answered it first, John Minkjan...sweet!

Looks like you forgot to reset the OOB settings when installing OBIEE:
have a look here to reset them:
http://obiee101.blogspot.com/2009/02/obiee-editing-system-wide-defaults.html

Click through, follow his instructions, bounce the server and voila!



As of this writing, I don't know what OOB stands for; I could make something up, but it probably wouldn't be appropriate for this family site.

Thanks John!

Labels: answers, obiee, presentation

  ¶ 3/07/2010 04:31:00 PM   4 Comments Links to this post

  ApEx Presenting = FUN! Wow...that's all I can say.

At lunch today, I put together my power point presentation. I meant to do it sooner of course, but it's been another busy week. In fact, I hadn't done a thing to prepare other than walking through it in my head.

I did not want this to be a presentation so much as a demo. Six slides is all they got.

I suddenly got very nervous around 4 today. I just want to get over there and start. I ended up leaving work just before 5.

The meeting was at the PriceWaterhouseCoopers building in Tampa, just across the street from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers headquarters. Very nice building.

The Presentation

I was introduced by the SOUG president promptly at 6:30. Roughly 40 people showed up (filled the room).

I had an hour and a half to complete my presentation...ummm...WHAT? I've got like 10 minutes worth of material! How the hell am I going to manage this??

Anyway, I walked through some of the features of APEX: Load/Unload data, SQL Commands, that kind of stuff, just trying to get to the application builder.

A couple of nights ago I began walking through and building a basic little reporting application tailored to the DBAs. Reports on roles and privileges basically. I never even got to that.

I created a 2 line csv (yes, I should have done it before hand), uploaded it to demonstrate how easy it was and then off the creating a report on that table.

"Can you create a form to update that record?"

Sure, here's how you do it. One minute later the form was done and I had updated the record. True to form...it's just so damn easy.

I answered a few other questions and then I got stuck. A member of the audience started answering the questions that I couldn't. We (the member in the audience) had spoken before the meeting and I believe he's just as passionate about APEX as I am). It worked rather well, so well in fact, that we're going to try and work out a dual presentation at the upcoming Technology Day SOUG puts on.

Someone would ask a question, I would answer them by showing them how to do it. Have I mentioned how much I like APEX? Rocks.

Next thing I know, it's a little past 8 and I can see the President trying to end the meeting. No way dude, too many questions to answer!

I got out of there around 9:30. I answered questions to the best of my ability...if I didn't know, pointed them to resources that could.

Exhilarating!

Can't wait to do it again...but next time I'll practice!

update
BTW, great crowd tonight. I couldn't have asked for a better group. Thanks to everyone for their support, and thanks to Tom and LewisC for asking me to do it.

Did I mention how cool it was? ;)

Labels: apex, database, oracle, presentation

  ¶ 4/24/2008 10:49:00 PM   3 Comments Links to this post

  ApEx Presentation I'll be doing my first professional IT presentation this Thursday for the Suncoast Oracle Users Group.

I'm a bit nervous, but excited at the same time. My goal is to make it as interactive as possible and just let it take me where it takes me.

I will have a canned demo, but I would rather it be more fluid. Can't always plan for those things...I could be a total bust!

So, if you're in the neighborhood and you want to check it out (or just laugh and heckle me), come on by. Details can be found here.

Labels: apex, oracle, presentation

  ¶ 4/21/2008 08:54:00 PM   3 Comments Links to this post