Enabling drilling and customizing drill maps

Analysts can drill through a report by clicking on an object on the report, to analyze data that is closely related to the original report data. They can use drilling to expose an entirely different object on a report to see what the data looks like within a different context. If you need an introduction to drilling or a better understanding of how users experience drilling, see Drilling into related data in Answering Questions about Data.

A drill map is a set of restrictions you can define that shape the directions that users can drill (called a drill path) on a report. If a report does not have a drill map specifically defined, the default paths available are based on the system hierarchy of the project. Any customized drill map you create can override the default. You create a drill map using the Drill Map Editor.

Analysts can perform several procedures to personalize their drilling experience in a given report. For example, an analyst can determine whether the drilled-from attribute automatically appears on the drilled-to report. For more information on the personalizations related to drilling that an analyst can define, see Controlling drilling behavior to affect report results in Answering Questions about Data.

For more information on the default drill map, and steps and examples for creating a new drill map, see the Drilling chapter of the Advanced Reporting Help.

To enable or restrict drilling

1. In MicroStrategy Web, run the report that you want to enable drilling in.
2. From the Tools menu, select Report Options.

3. From the Drill options drop-down list, select one of the following options to specify how users can drill in the report:

   • No drilling: Users cannot drill up, down, or across to any objects.
   • Drill down only: Users can only drill down on objects on the report. They cannot drill up or across to other objects.
   • Drill anywhere: Users can drill up, down, and across to any objects available in the drop-down list.
4. Click OK.