Version 2021

Creating a transaction-enabled document

You create a transaction-enabled document by performing the following high-level steps in MicroStrategy Web:

1 Link a Grid/Graph or the text fields on a panel stack (called a field group) to a Transaction Services-enabled report. Data from the input objects defined in the Transaction Services report is displayed in the Grid/Graph or text fields for users to edit.

For a transaction-enabled document displayed in MicroStrategy Mobile on an iOS device, you can create a transaction table to group and organize the transaction controls. You then link the transaction table to the Transaction Services-enabled report. For steps to create a transaction table for iOS devices, see the MicroStrategy Mobile Design and Administration Guide.

2 Link each input object on the Transaction Services report to one of the following:
An attribute form or metric (for Grid/Graphs)
A text field (for text fields on a panel stack)
A cell (for a transaction table for iOS devices)
3 Determine what type of input object control is displayed to users when they view the Transaction Services-enabled document. Analysts use these input object controls to edit the data displayed in a document. For example, users can type text in a text field, turn a switch on and off to specify a numeric value, select a value from a list, and so on.
4 Add an action selector button or link as you design the document. The button or link targets the Grid/Graph or panel stack. When the document is viewed, users can click the button or link to submit, update, or discard their changes to the data.

A transaction table displays its own buttons to submit, update, or discard changes, so additional buttons or links are not needed.

Detailed steps to create a Transaction Services-enabled document are below.

Prerequisites

You must have Transaction Services.
You must have the Web Configure Transaction privilege.
This procedure assumes that the Transaction Services report that you want to link to the Grid/Graph, text fields, or transaction table has already been created. This report must contain the input object for each value that you want to allow users to change. For steps to create a Transaction Services report, see the Advanced Reporting Guide.
This procedure assumes that you have already created a document with one of the following:
A Grid/Graph that contains a separate attribute form or metric to link to each input object on the Transaction Services report. Each attribute form that you want to link to an input object must be visible in the Grid/Graph. To choose the attribute forms displayed for an attribute in the Grid/Graph, right-click the header of the attribute, point to Attribute Forms, then select the attribute forms to display. For steps to add a Grid/Graph to a document, see Adding a report to a document.

To allow users to edit the values of attribute forms in a grid, you must place only attributes on the grid's rows, and only metrics on the grid's columns.

Text fields on a panel stack (called a field group). Each input object on the Transaction Services report needs a separate text field. The text fields can contain data, or can be filled in from the input object. For steps to create a panel stack, see the Dashboards and Widgets Creation Guide. For steps to create text fields, see Adding text and data to a document: Text fields.
A transaction table for display on iOS devices with MicroStrategy Mobile. For steps to create a transaction table, see the MicroStrategy Mobile Design and Administration Guide.

To enable transactions for a document

1 In MicroStrategy Web, open the document in Design or Editable Mode.
2 Do one of the following, depending on which type of control that you want to use in the document:
To link a Grid/Graph to the Transaction Services report, right-click the Grid/Graph, then select Configure Transaction. The Configure Transactions Editor opens.
To link the text fields on a panel stack (called a field group) to the Transaction Services report, right-click any text field in the panel stack, then select Configure Transaction. The Configure Transactions Editor opens.
To link the cells on a transaction table to the Transaction Services report, right-click the transaction table, then select Configure Transaction. The Configure Transactions Editor opens.
3 Select a Transaction Services report. To do this, click ... (the browse button). Navigate to and select the Transaction Services report to link to.
4 You can choose to automatically recalculate subtotals and derived metrics when a user edits a value in the document, or refresh the values only when the user manually chooses to recalculate the data. This option is available for Grid/Graphs linked to a Transaction Services report. Do one of the following:
To automatically recalculate the subtotals and derived metrics, select the Automatically recalculate values after data change check box.
To recalculate the subtotals and derived metrics manually, clear the Automatically recalculate values after data change check box.
5 You can display a row of check boxes beside each row of data in a grid, to allow the user to choose which rows of data to update using the Transaction Services report. This option is available for grids. This option is only applied to grids in which all attributes are on the rows and all metrics are on the columns. Do one of the following:
To allow users to select rows of data using the check boxes, select the Mark rows for selection (tabular grids only) check box.
To display data in the grid without the check boxes, clear the Mark rows for selection (tabular grids only) check box.
6 You can choose to display an indicator next to grid cells, text fields, or transaction table cells displayed in the document, to mark the values that the user has changed. Do one of the following:
To display an indicator next to the changed values, select the Flag cells/fields with modified data check box.
To display the changed values without an indicator, clear the Flag cells/fields with modified data check box.
7 When a user chooses to submit his changes to the data, there may be input object controls in which he has made no changes. You can determine whether to submit the contents of all input object controls when the user clicks submit, including those in which the user has made no changes. For example, you can allow users to review content and accept it without making any changes, or check in at a specific time without making any additional comments. To do so, do one of the following:
To allow users to submit their data without making changes in input objects linked to a grid, select the Submit unchanged records check box.
To allow users to submit their data without making changes in input objects linked to a field group or transaction table cells, select the Allow submission without modification check box.
8 A list of each input object in the Transaction Services report is displayed in the Transaction Input column. Perform the following steps for each input object:
a Do one of the following, depending on which control type to link the report to:
To link a Grid/Graph to the Transaction Services report, from the Grid Object drop-down list, select the attribute form or metric to link to the input object.
To link a text field in a panel stack to the Transaction Services report, from the Field drop-down list, select the text field that you want to link to the input object.
To link a cell of a transaction table to the Transaction Services report, from the Field drop-down list, select the cell that you want to link to the input object.
b Choose whether users can edit the value of each input object. Do one of the following:
To allow the user to edit the value of the input object, select the Editable check box.
To prevent the user from editing the value of the input object, clear the Editable check box.
c From the Control Style drop-down list, select the type of control to use to display and edit the value of the input object. Select one of the following:

The available options may vary depending on the data type of the input object. For information on how each control is displayed in Web or on a mobile device, see Input object controls that support transactions.

To allow users to type a single line of text in a text box, select Text Field.
To allow users to type multiple lines of text in a text box, select Text Area.
To allow users to turn a switch on or off to specify a numeric value, select Switch.
To allow users to choose a specific time, select Time Picker.
To allow users to select a date from a calendar, select Calendar.
To allow users to rate an item on a numeric scale, select Likert Scale.
To allow users to choose a value from a list or a group of radio buttons, select List.
To allow users to choose a value on a slider, select Slider.
To allow users to click a button to choose an image, select Toggle.
To allow users to provide an electronic signature, select Signature Capture.
To allow users to select data by incrementing or decrementing a numeric value, select Stepper.
To allow users to scan or manually input a barcode, select Barcode.
To allow users to rate an item using a star rating (for example, rating an item four out of five stars), select Star Rating.
d To specify the display options for the input object control, click the Control Properties icon next to the Control Style drop-down list to expand the Control Properties, then select the appropriate options to format the control. For a list of the options available for each type of control, and steps to format them, see Input object controls that support transactions.
9 Repeat the appropriate steps above to define and format the control that you want to display for each input object.
10 Click OK to save your changes and return to the document.

If you have defined input object controls based on text fields in a document, each text field is displayed with a gear icon in the bottom right of the field, to signify that it displays as an input object control.

To create the action selector button or link

If you are working with a transaction table, you have completed enabling transactions, because the action selector buttons are included on the transaction table. Steps to configure the buttons are included in the procedure to create a table, described in the MicroStrategy Mobile Design and Administration Guide.

11 From the Insert menu, point to Selector, then select one of the following:
To allow users to click a button to recalculate, discard, or submit their changes, select Action Selector Button.
To allow users to click a link to recalculate, discard, or submit their changes, select Action Selector Link.
You can create a custom selector button by using the link option above, and then placing the link text over an image. For steps to add an image, see the MicroStrategy Web Help.
12 Click the section of the Layout area in which you want to place the selector. Right-click the selector, then select Properties and Formatting. The Properties and Formatting dialog box opens.
13 From the left, click General, then type the text you want to display on the button or link in the Display Text field.
14 By default, a descriptive title bar is displayed for the selector. You can determine whether or not to display the title bar. Do one of the following:
To display the title bar, select the Show Title Bar check box and type the title to display in the field.
To display the selector button or link without the title bar, clear the Show Title Bar check box.
15 From the left, click Selector. From the Action Type drop-down list, select one of the following:
To allow the user to submit the changes that they have made to the data in the document, select Submit.
To allow the user to recalculate the values of derived metrics and subtotals, reapply number and date formatting, and update other values calculated by the Analytical Engine, select Recalculate.

MicroStrategy Web does not support using a button or link to recalculate derived metrics displayed in text fields. To allow users to recalculate the values of derived metrics in your Transaction Services-enabled documents, consider displaying your data in a Grid/Graph.

To allow the user to discard their changes and display the values of the input objects from when they were last submitted, select Discard Changes.
16 You can choose to display a message asking for confirmation when a user clicks the action selector button or link. This option is only available if the Action Type is set to Submit or Discard Changes. Do one of the following:
To display the confirmation message, select the Require confirmation check box.
To submit or discard changes without displaying a confirmation message, clear the Require confirmation check box.
17 You can determine which action MicroStrategy Web performs after a user submits his changes. This option is only available if the Action Type is set to Submit. Select one of the following under Subsequent Actions:
To return to the document without performing any additional actions, select the No subsequent action option.
To refresh the display of the document, select the Refresh the current document option.
To run a specific report or document, select the Run a new report or document option. Click ... (the browse button), navigate to and select the report or document you want to run, and click OK.
18 If you have chosen to have a report or document automatically run after the user submits his changes, you can choose to use the same prompt answers that were chosen in the source document to answer the prompts in the target report/document. To use the same prompt answers, select the Answer prompts with the same answers as the source check box. This option requires that both the source and target report/document use the same prompts. The user will still be prompted for any prompts that exist in the target but that do not exist in the source.
19 If you have chosen to have a report or document automatically run after the user submits his changes, you can specify whether the report or document will be executed using data cached on the mobile device. If you choose to have the report or document run without using data cached on the mobile device, the report or document is automatically executed using data cached on the Intelligence Server, if available. If no cached data is available on the mobile device or Intelligence Server, the report or document is executed against the data source. This option is only available if the Action Type is set to Submit and the Run a new report or document option is selected. Do one of the following:

You can choose to have the report or document automatically executed against the data source each time it is run, ensuring that the report or document displays the most recent data. To do so, you must disable caching for the report or document. For steps, as well as background information on caching reports and documents displayed on mobile devices, see the Mobile Design and Administration Guide.

To run the report or document without using data cached on the mobile device, select the Force Live Execution check box.
To run the report or document using data cached on the mobile device, clear the Force Live Execution check box.
20 You can display a custom confirmation message to the user after his changes are submitted. This option is only available if the Action Type is set to Submit. Do one of the following:
To display a custom message, select the Display message after submit check box, then type a confirmation message in the field.
To apply the user's changes without displaying a custom message, clear the Display message after submit check box.
21 A Transaction Services-enabled document that is pre-cached is run in the background, and its results are stored on the mobile device on which it is executed, improving the speed with which the document is run. You can choose to update document results cached on a mobile device after the user submits his changes, by using the Invalidate Mobile Device Cache setting to mark a document's results as in need of updating.

If the document is defined to be pre-cached, the document will be automatically pre-cached each time the user submits his changes. If the document is not defined to be pre-cached, the document will be automatically executed using data cached on the Intelligence Server the next time the document is run, or executed against the data source if no cached data is available. For background information on pre-caching, see the Mobile Design and Administration Guide. This option is only available if the Action Type is set to Submit. Do one of the following:

To have document pre-cached each time the user submits their changes, select the Invalidate Mobile Device Cache check box.
To allow the user to submit their changes without marking the data cached on the mobile device as in need of updating, clear the Invalidate Mobile Device Cache check box.
22 By default, the selector button or link automatically targets (updates) each Grid/Graph and panel stack in the section in which the button or link is placed. You can choose the targets of the selector manually instead. To do so, select Click here, then use the right arrow to move the Grid/Graph or panel stack to target from the Available list to the Selected list. For detailed steps, see the MicroStrategy Web Help.
23 Click OK to save your changes and return to the document.
24 Repeat the appropriate steps above to define each action selector button or link that you want to add to the document.