We are using ZABO version 5.1.3 and testing with 5.1.6, both have the same problem. When you have a report with multiple data providers and multiple prompts, it takes a LONG time for the prompt dialog box to come up! We have a report with 7 data providers and 7 prompts, it takes 50 seconds for the prompt dialog box to appear in Full Client and 3 minutes in ZABO.
Sandy, bear with me. I want to look at this one step at a time. Also keep in mind Iām at home on āvacationā with no software and no notes on the things I found. This all happened around the time the listserv died so the thread wasnāt ever completed. Difficult to get the messages out. Neverthelessā¦
Do something for me. Open the report in full client (a fresh copy from corporate documents). Refresh it. Watch the bottom of the screen when you hit refresh. Do you see āUpdatingāā¦, āUpdatingā¦ā, āUpdatingā¦ā, over and over againā¦ If so, run the report to completion. Hit refresh againā¦faster this time huh? . Weāll work on that in a minute.
Tell me whether you have one or more repositories and whether you have moved this document between domains.
Gosh it is nice to have you all back from the conference!
OK, I have my work cut out for me. Iāll look over everything you asked about during lunch and get all of the answers.
Thank you both so much! Our users are ready to 1) leave the tool or 2) go back to version 4!! ( I looked for a hysterical icon, but couldnāt find one!)
I retrieved the report from Corp. Doc, and hit the refresh button. I saw Updating Dataā¦ 7 times (one for each data provider I would guess) and just before the prompt dialog box opened I saw Connecting flash by. I clicked OK and then I saw Analyzing, Updating Data and finally Last Exec. These 7 data providers run pretty quickly - less than 30 sec each.
I ran the report about 3 times and every time it took the same amount of time to bring up the prompt dialog box. It never got faster. (I only retrieved from corp. docs the first time.)
We have 3 domains - Development, Test and Production. We only put our documents in the Production domain. So, no, it has never been moved between domains. It may have moved between groups in the same domain.
Steveās questions:
Not sure what you are looking for in Supervisor, but here goes. Let me know if I missed what you are after.
The problem is the same for us (Supervisor/Designers) as for the Business Users (they have BusinessObjects and WebIntelligence modules in the Configuration tab).
The report is in only 1 group in only 1 domain.
Not sure what to say about user settings. Are you looking for something specific?
Designer (The 7 data providers use the same universe.):
The universe has 6 contexts.
56 Tables (8 used in the report)
3 aggregate tables - so we use aggregate aware
1,438 objects
50 joins
This universe has been around since the beginning - March 1998. It has been exported to all 3 domains many times. It has been revised 429 times! (Whoa! Weāve been busy!)
In case it matters, we have a naming convention for the universes /domains, so we do a Save as before it gets exported to the next domain. It goes like this D_UnvName for Development domain. Do a File | Save as and change the name to T_UnvName, export to Test domain. Do a File |Save as and change the name to UnvName and export to Production domain.
Iām talking about Enable Offline login and Enable Realtime User Rights update.
The first one should be on and the second should be off. Those can slow you down.
Is it only this one report that has this problem.
I would try manually pointing each data provider to the universe to make sure it isnāt swapping universes on you. That takes time. Point and save and see what happens. You Save As technique should be OK, but perhaps we have a universe ID problem.
I checked Supervisor. We have both turned on. We could turn off Enable Realtime User Rights, and I donāt think anyone would complain. I tried a little experiment - in full client and in ZABO. I changed it so that the setting was off, and it didnāt make any difference in the time to bring up the prompt box. But, if it did, it still doesnāt explain why it takes less than a minutes in Full Client and 3 minutes in ZABO.
This is our only standard report with 7 data providers, but the vast majority have 2 -4 and it takes then longer to bring up the prompt box in ZABO than in Full Client.
Iām not surprised about updating data 7 timesā¦once for each dp. Iām shocked though that after you ran it to completion, the prompts didnāt display immediately. So did you hit refresh, run it, donāt close but immediately refresh again?
I want to know what color your āDo not regenerate sqlā permission is. Iād like for it to be Orange. Be sure to check it for every group youāre in before saying it is green. If you find an instance of Orange, that will win and weāll know it is regenerating but donāt claim green unless youāre absolutely sure. If you donāt look carefully, the green may be overridden somewhere. I know that sounds backwards because youād think regenerating the sql would be a bad thing but that wasnāt my experience in my studies.
I also agree with what Steve said about physically pointing your reports to the proper data provider. Rather than using the ā¦ button, Iād like for you to use the save and close methodā¦alternatively, Iāll let you use the ā¦ but I want you to run it afterwards.
Unfortunately Iām going to be out of commission for a while so I may not get back into this thread for some time. Iāve done a little spreadsheet on how the āDo not regenerateā and pointing reports to the proper data provider and Steveās thoughts on āenable offline loginā impacted my report performance (I did validate Steveās findings in my own situation!). Iāve sent it out to a handful of people so if you read this and have it, please send it to Sandy. If you donāt get it or resolve your problem by Tuesday the 29th, shoot me an email at home and Iāll get you a copy. I wonāt have access to it until then.
You can point a data provider using the ā¦ button but Iāve had speed problems unless I subsequently RAN the dp. You said that your first refresh was slow and the second was as well. That wasnāt the case with mine. If I ā¦ changed then RAN the report, the prompts appeared immediately on the subsequent refresh. Thatās why I wanna know if youāre orange. I hope to see the prompts immediately on the second refresh when youāre orange.
If you āsave and closeā it was the equivalent of a ā¦ change with a refresh. Save and close isā¦
go look at the data provider and hit the āsave and closeā button.
My problem isnāt with a data provider not refreshing quickly, itās the document itself. The current document refreshes the data and brings back approximately 46,271 rows in about two minutes. Not bad, but there are an additional three minutes before you actually see the data updated on the screen.
The report is fairly complex. There are 37 results objects and a very complex condition statement (full of or connectors). It has 66 variables that uses If then Else statements as well as 12 grouped variables. All of which must calculate before you see the data update. There are 18 report tabs in this document and clicking between each one can take up to 18 minutes to see the data.
My burning question is there any way to speed the performance of this report when moving between tabs and/or updating variables without having to take a ācoffeeā break!
I am afraid the more complex the document is (local report variables, linked data providers) the longer it will take to display the actual results.
Since linking of data providers and calculating of report variables is done on the client PC more memory and a faster processor on the PC running this report would help.
So besides upgrading hardware the only recommendation I have would be to review the report variables and see if some of them are really needed etc.
Also, if you included graphics/images on a report that will usually slow you down as well (you might want to turn off page layout under menu View| Page Layout).
One more thing would to review complex filters and/or alerters as well.
You might also check out Dave Rathbunās Variables and More Variables presentations from the various International User Conferences. Look at Integraās web site: http://www.integrasolutions.net/
One big mistake is to use formulas rather than variables. Every time you change a formula, instead of replacing, you create a new one. So you may have many unnecessary formulas that were works-in-progress, but which may be slowing down your report because each has to be calculated, even if it is not used.
So ā check through your formulas and variables, and get rid of any that are not needed ā and, where feasible, change your formulas to variables, so that if you ever change them, they donāt multiply!
Sometimes I try to take shots at the data. Rather than pull 47K rows I might try to run multiple queries that target the specific data I need and eliminate the necessity for some of the ifā¦thenā¦elseing. I also have the totally unsubstantianted, purely subjective impression that grouping is slower than the alternative (if, then, else). Have you considered doing some decoding or case statements or adding tables to provide the groups you need?
I created a test account so I could control everything. I tried being all green, then all orange, then a mix, then all āblankā or inherited. I didnāt get any changes in time. It consistently took 52 seconds to bring up the prompt box. (I did it the way we were doing it. I opened the report, hit refresh (52"), ran the report, hit refresh again (52") and ran the report.)
After I made the changes in Supervisor, I hit the refresh button, then I did a login as because I was already in the Business Objects module. It is my understanding that I would get the changes. I shouldnāt have to log off of Supervisor too, should I?
BTW, I also have Enable Realtime User Rights update unchecked, or turned off.
So your test account was in only one group right? When you said āall greenā and āall orangeā what did you mean? I really only care right now that the āDo not regenā reporter setting is green or orange. If your account is in only one group weāll know that green is green is green. If it is more, there could be conflicting settings so I donāt believe you unless I see it for myself.
You said Andreas sent my spreadsheet right? From that you can see that we had a definite decrease in prompt display time with a smart report (one that had been run once against itās universe or with dpās that had been saved and closed to make it āsmartā) but only when the āDo not regenā was orange. This is hard to do from memory and from home A smart report doesnāt do the āupdatingā¦updatingā¦updatingā once for each data provider.
Thatās fine. Youāre right that you wouldnāt need to shut down Stuporvisor. Iām not concerned about the realtime setting. Youāre logging into reporter again. Mail me your phone number and we can do a 15 minute call tomorrow morning if you want.
We have a report with 7 data providers and 7 prompts, it takes 50 seconds for the prompt dialog box to appear in Full Client and 3 minutes in ZABO.
(BOB member since 2002-06-17)
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(BOB member since 2002-06-11)
though that after you ran it to completion, the prompts didnāt display immediately. So did you hit refresh, run it, donāt close but immediately refresh again?
(BOB member since 2002-06-20)
I created a test account so I could control everything. I tried being all green, then all orange, then a mix, then all āblankā or inherited. I didnāt get any changes in time. It consistently took 52 seconds to bring up the prompt box. (I did it the way we were doing it. I opened the report, hit refresh (52"), ran the report, hit refresh again (52") and ran the report.)
unless I see it for myself.
A smart report doesnāt do the āupdatingā¦updatingā¦updatingā once for each data provider.