CXO-Cockpit Administrator Frequently Asked Questions

 Calculated Members - What to do if I cannot find my calculated member in the Viewer

For performance reasons, CXO-Viewer caches meta-data on dimensions. This cache should be refreshed as soon as meta-data has been changed. A refresh of the cache can be forced by putting the string “&refresh=true” at the end of the url.

For example:


http://Myserver/CXOViewer/ViewerLogin.aspx?ViewerId=ab5c9880-1bfe-4e8.......nC2PTlzq&refresh=true


This is a one time action and it is even sufficient that one user (e.g., an Administrator) performs this action.

 CXO-Cockpit Export Service - How should I configure it

In order to configure CXO-Cockpit Export Service you need to go to the folder where it is installed and open the file called CXO.Cockpit.WindowsServices.StoryBoardGenerator.exe.config.

Applications

First you need to specify which applications should be handled by the current instance of the CXO-Cockpit Export Service.

Find a section called ConnectionStrings and add new applications. Keep in mind that the <clear /> statement should stay in there. Te easiest way to find an appropriate connection string for you application is to copy it from the Web.config file of your website.

Finally the ConnectionString section should look like this:


<connectionStrings>
  <clear />
  <add name="GAPConnectionString_prod" connectionString="Data Source=SQLSERVERINSTANCE;Initial Catalog=cxo_repository_prod;Integrated Security=False;user=SQLUSER;password=ENCRYPTEDSQLPASSWORD" />
</connectionStrings>



Navigate through the file and find a section called appSettings. It is not recommended to change all of this settings but you probably need to change the following:Configuration

  • FileStoreLocation - the folder where the CXO-Cockpit Export Service will store all generated files
  • CXOViewerUrl - the URL of the CXO-Viewer in your current setup
  • RenderingEngine - the rendering engine which will be used for creating an export. Can be IE (Internet Explorer) or FF (Firefox)

In most of the cases the following configuration will work:


<add key="FileStoreLocation" value="C:\Program Files\CXO Solutions\CXO-Cockpit\Storyboard Export Service\files\" />
<add key="CXOViewerUrl" value="http://localhost/CXOViewer/" />
<add key="RenderingEngine" value="FF" />


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 Financial Statement - How can I manage the breakdown dimensions in the report

CXO-Cockpit is closely integrated with your source system and retrieves from your source system which analytical dimensions have a relation to the selected account.

You would normally see no analytical dimensions that have no relation with the selected account.

In order to open the report with the most relevant analytical dimension you can set the ´Default Breakdown Dimension´ parameter.

As of 4.3.2 release there is an option to display Account breakdown in Member Detail Control of the Financial Statement report. If Account dimension is one of the report breakdown dimensions, the sub-accounts of the selected account will be displayed according to their hierarchy in the right bottom pane of the report:

See Also

Financial Statement Template

 Financial Statement - I don´t like the variance bars, can I change the chart style or remove the variances

Yes there are several ways to change the variance bars that are displayed by default:

  1. Change the report to use boxes instead of bars --> change the ´Variance Style´ parameter to: boxes
  2. Hide the variance bars completely --> change the ´Variance Style´ parameter to: none
  3. Hide the variance on those lines where it is not relevant: --> Set the ´Suppress Variance´ attribute of the specific row item to: Yes

See Also

Financial Statement Template

 For the commentary sections in the dashboard tool, is it possible to create a template format

Yes, CXO-Cockpit provides an option to prepare a template for the users, so that they have a fixed format to enter the comments. See for an example the following screenshot:

 HFM data-extract: why do selected dimension members not show up

This usually happens if you added new Custom# dimension members, new Accounts or new Entities to HFM. After you retrieved the new meta-data in the CXO-Cockpit by starting a Meta-data extract, you select the new members and you hope that they will also be available to the reports.

The reason that they do not show up is because you did not do a full-data extract, followed by a full OLAP database processing after selecting the new members. Either you did not do a data extract at all, or you only did an incremental upload (certain Scenario / year / period combinations).

Only after a full data-extract (a data-extract using the first Load Set) the dimensions in the CXO-Cockpit are rebuilt. And only after a full processing of the OLAP database (so with the 'Data only' checkbox under the 'Process OLAP db' button unchecked) the new members will be selectable and / or visible in the CXO-Cockpit reports.

 How can I apply conditional formatting

Conditional formatting as a part of CXO-Cockpit functionality exists within the Variance (VAR) formula - once you create this type of formula in your report, you can set the Variance Threshold in your list parameters (if you want individual thresholds for every item) or report parameters (if you want to use the same variance threshold across the report).

There are cases when you need to apply conditional formatting to a different type of formula (e.g. ratio). In this case you can use the following workaround to get conditional formatting into your report.

The report below uses the ratio formula for the two accounts - Cost of Goods Sold and Net Sales:


In the standard CXO-Cockpit functionality it is not possible to apply Variance coloring and thresholds for a Ratio formula.

You can use the following workaround to get conditional formatting into your Ratio based formula:

1. Add one more column which would use Summation formula. In this formula subtract any parameter of the report from itself. In this way you will get zero value in the column


2. Add another column which will use the variance between original ratio and "zero" column. In this way you will get the required conditional formatting, by using the values equal to the origial ratio:


3. To have the variance value in percentage, change the Format to Percent:


4. Then you can hide unnecessary columns and set the required variance threshold:

 How can I change the contents of the domain selector in the CXO-Cockpit web client

CXO-Cockpit shows the list of domains that can be found by the service account as specified on the IIS Application Pool.

If you want to change the contents or order of the domains you can modify the Web.config.

Add the required domains to the "DomainsFilter" value. The different domains can separated by semicolon.

 How can I configure my report to use quarters instead of months

The CXO-Cockpit Point of View Bar shows for the Period Dimension by default the Month level.

Every report can be configured to show the quarter level instead. Use the Frequency Report Parameter and set the value to 'Q'. This changes the periods to show quarters instead of months in the Point of View Bar. This parameter also changes the periods shown in chart timelines. In addition the setting for Any (user select) can be selected in the CXO Design Studio Report Parameters, this will allow the user to select any period from within the defined period frequency hierarchy ( including Months, Quarters and Years etc.)

For free models the levels of the Period Dimension are defined in the Period Frequency

 How can I make use of a different Essbase Alias table

CXO-Cockpit uses by default the Essbase Alias Table: 'Default'. You can specify for each dimension to use an alternative Alias Table in the Dimension Mapping screen.

Read more about changing dimension mappings and changing aliases in the Dimension Mapping article.

 How can I see in what reports a specific list is used
  1. In the CXO-Designer > go to Shared objects and select Lists
  2. Select the list you want to verify
  3. Click the button next to the list and select Show Usage.

4. A pop-up will appear - Usages for list.

 How can I set a different Home Page

A Home Page Report is linked to a User Group. You can set the Home Page in the User Groups menu. In the CXO-Designer select Users > Users Groups.

 How can I update the license key

You need to renew the license key in case:

  • The key expired
  • You company bought more users, or other connectors, etc.

In case you have issues with the license key contact the CXO-Cockpit support desk.

To renew the license key take the following steps:

  • Login to the CXO Cockpit Server Configuration Tool
  • Open the License Key Tab
  • In the licence Key Tab - paste the new license key in the "License key" field
  • Press the Save button at the top of the page

The Panel will then show the details provided by the new license key, including valid until date , numbers of users and valid backend connectors

 How does CXO-Cockpit coordinate with the process management from HFM

CXO-Cockpit coordinates with process management in HFM in the following way: if the HFM user account that extracts the data from HFM is only allowed to retrieve data that has the appropriate submission level, then only the data that reached that milestone is copied into CXO. By adding a batch process, we can then automate that the data is automatically copied after reaching that milestone*.*

 How do I configure CXO-Cockpit to use the Active Directory to authorize the users

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 How do I configure CXO-Cockpit to use the LDAP to authorize the users

CXO-Cockpit can authorize users using LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)Domain Accounts for login. This article explains here how you can do this.

Each domain user needs to be registered in the CXO-Cockpit application. For an existing application you will need to setup an initial domain user in the Cockpit before switching to domain authentication:

 How do I Upload an Image to Use in a Browser Control

Within the CXO-Cockpit website you can upload HTML content or images that can be used on a browser control of a Free Format Template or a Web View Template.

In order to do this follow this steps:

  1. Go to a CXO-Cockpit HTML Upload Report, choose the generated PNG file and upload it.
  2. The CXO-Cockpit encrypts the name in the URL bar of the report, copy this new URL.
  3. Use this URL for the URL parameter of the website control.
 How to change the website timeout limit

Lowering the website timeout limit reduces the total memory used by the server. Inactive user sessions will be cleared quicker which will reduce the total number of active sessions.

Follow these steps to change session timeout to e.g. 20 minutes:

  • Open Configurator on every CXO-Cockpit Web Server
  • On the Web Site tab of the Configuration tab
  • Change attribute “configuration/system.web/sessionState[timeout]" to 20:

  • Change Idle timeout in advanced settings of IIS Application Pool "CXOCockpit" to 20:

 How to customize the web interface so I get my company logo

The company logo can be changed via the custom styles sheet.

See Also:

CXO Custom styles

 I need to substract two values, how can I do that

The formula editors does not include a subtract function, nevertheless you can subtract values:

Assume that you want to subtract row 2 from row 1 into row 3, so

1. add a row 4 as a formula multiplying (MULT) row 2 with -1

2. add a row 5 as a formula SUM (#1, #4)

3. Switch visible off for row 4

Now row 4 will contain row 1 minus row 2

 In the CXO-Designer, is there a way to create a dynamic list

Yes, CXO-Cockpit has dynamic lists available for all dimensions, including the entity and account dimension.

See Also:

Dynamically Generated List

 Is CXO-Cockpit SOX Compliant?

Yes, our software is an integrated part of the reporting process at companies with the strictest possible SOX rules that are regularly (and successfully) audited. CXO-Cockpit has a advanced security model that prevents user from seeing data that they not have access to. CXO-Cockpit integrates with Microsoft Active Directory.

Additionally CXO-Cockpit creates an audit log of all security changes like password changes, user group and user modifications.

 Is there any way to use security filters to show multiple hierarchies in the POV selection box

Yes, it is possible to add multiple hierarchies to the POV selection box without adding all the hierarchies.

In the Point of View Security Filters you can add multiple parents like in this example:

In the CXO-Cockpit website it would look like this:

It is also possible to add parents from different levels.

 Multi-Column - How can I add a row with just text (label) and no numbers

A label row can be easily created using an empty row and a custom description.

Take the following steps to get a label row:

  1. Add a new row to your report and give it the right order
  2. Set the ´Empty´ attribute to: yes
  3. Set the desired text to the ´Custom Description´ field
  4. Set the right format to the row item

See Also

Multi-Column Template

 Multi-Column - How can I fix the headers

If you have a report with a long list of data in columns or in rows, which does not fit on one page, you can fix (freeze) the headers of the report.

This makes it easier to navigate across the big volume of the report and allows a user to see the lowest row of the report together with the applicable column.

To freeze the headers, go to settings panel > Labels, Formats and Colors > Freeze Headers and select the items to freeze.

See Also

Multi-Column Template

 My numbers seem wrong or absent, could that have to do with my security filters

When certain dimension members are filtered for certain user groups, they can still be selected in the Report Dimensions in the CXO-Designer.

Note that when the report is used by these users the numbers may seem wrong or absent. This is caused by the fact that the first available (non filtered) member of the dimension is used.

 The AVGR and SUMR values do not show the right averages and sums

The AVGR and SUMR functions calculates the averages respectively the sum of a range of items in a list, with one exception: when an item is set to invisible, it is not included in the AVGR or SUMR total.

So in the case that the AVGR or SUMR function does not show the correct total, please check the visible settings of the rows included in the range.

 The SUMR function does not include invisible members in a list. How can I include invisible members in a list

It is correct that the SUMR function does not include invisible members in a list. The solution is to use the SUM function and include all of the individual members.
For example, if you have SUMR(5,8) and line 6 is invisible, the SUMR function will add 5,7 and 8, but leave 6 out. The solution is to use SUM(5,6,7,8).

 What to do in case of error - The identity of application pool 'CXOcockpit' is invalid

When you receive this error message, this is usually caused by an expired or disable password of the web application pool CXO-Cockpit. To check the username of the web application pool, go to Internet Information Services on the CXO-Cockpit server, open the web application pool properties of cxocockpit and go to the identity tab. Check the status of the password of the username shown in this tab and recycle the application pool

 Why do I get errors and or empty results on formulas?

When the CXO Cockpit Web Client returns errors or other unexpected results on formula rows or formula columns, the following could be the cause:

  • The regional settings of the OLAP server are different then on the Internet Information Server (IIIS).

The regional settings of the service account of both the OLAP Server and IIS should be exactly the same. Please check with you Systems Administrator to verify this.

 Support

Resources

If you are a CXO-Cockpit End-user:

If you are the CXO-Cockpit Administrator or a Consultant:


Log a support case

If your question is not solved by checking out the resources as described above, then please follow the following steps to get support:

  1. If you do not have the Administrator role in your organization, then contact the Administrator within your organization.
  2. If you are the Administrator and you did not find your answer in the FAQ section, then send an email to support@cxo-cockpit.com with the following information:
    1. Version of CXO-Cockpit
    2. Explanation of the issue
    3. Screenshot of the issue
    4. Any relevant log files (e.g. MDX Log or print server log)