Application Help

Quick Links to Help Topics:

Application

Overview

Applications based on Alphablox FastForward give you easy access to business reports or analytic views. Available reports vary in interactivity and functionality, depending on the report's specific usage.

Layout and Controls

All applications based on Alphablox FastForward have a similar layout structure, including the navigation menu on the left and the application services toolbar on the top right. Available reports are viewed in the report window, located below the toolbar.

Navigation Menu

Public, Private, and Group Tabs

At the top of the navigation menu are three tabs, labeled Public, Private, and Group.

Application Toolbar

Icon Tooltip Description
Save Report Opens a dialog to save report with new name, description, and visibility. Reports saved with Private visibility are saved under the Private tab, while reports saved to Public are saved in the public folder under the Groups tab.
Delete Report Deletes the selected report, when the report was created by you. Published and reports shared with you can only be deleted by the report owner.
Email Link Opens a mail message with a link for the current report in the message body.
Export to Excel Exports the current view into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Print Preview Generates a printable HTML version of the current view.
Admin Tasks Switches the application to Administrator mode. Administrative access is restricted.
Feedback Opens an email message addressed to the person defined in the application.
Help Opens the application help system in a separate browser window.

Reports

Using

The reports displayed vary widely in their purpose and features, see the help for each individual report for details. This help is available by clicking the "Report Help" link in the title bar when the report is loaded.

Saving

To save a copy of a report with changes you've made, click the Save Report button, located on the application's application toolbar. A dialog box will appear, prompting you for report name, description, and visibility. The visiblity of the application can be set to public, private, or a group (if defined). Saving to public means that any users who can log into this application can see this report layout, but will only be able to see data based on their access permission rights. Private reports are reports only you can see. If a defined group is selected, only users that are members of that group will be able to view the report you saved.

Printing

There are two options for printing the contents of a report.

Exporting To Excel

While reports are most useful when the data is live and full interactivity is available, you can also export to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, making them available for futher analysis, later use, or for sharing by email. Clicking on the Export to Excel button, located on the application's application toolbar, will open the currently displayed report in Microsoft Excel (loaded within a Microsoft Internet Explorer browser window).

When Excel opens a spreadsheet within a browser window, by default, none of the normal Excel toolbars are visible. These toolbars can be restored by selecting the browser's View->Toolbars menu item.

Feedback

The Feedback button, located on the application application toolbar, is provided to encourage you to ask questions, provide comments, and let the application administrator know about any problems you encounter. The quality of this application depends on feedback from users like you.

More Help

Applications based on Alphablox FastForward use Alphablox DHTML technologies to create reports with custom interactivity and functionality. Individual reports may offer limited or full interactivity, depending on the report requirements. If the Help option is available on toolbars in a particular report, you can access the Alphablox User Help by clicking on that option in the menu. Alternatively, you can also access the help directly here: Alphablox User Help.