how to create a workbook - Quick BI - Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

This topic explains how to create a workbook in Quick BI Pro and Professional Edition group spaces.

Prerequisites

You have created a dataset. For more information, see Create Datases.

Access

After navigating to the or the international Quick BI console, you can create a new workbook on the Workbench using the following methods.

There are five methods to create a new workbook:

Method 1: Create resources quickly using the external resource entry point
Entry point 2: Quick creation from the resource list in a space
Method 3: Create from the workbook module within a workspace
When you create a workbook using the first three methods, no dataset is selected by default. You must select a dataset on the editing page.
Method 4: Create from the dataset list
Method 5: Create from the Dataset Editing page
After creating a new workbook from an existing dataset using Methods 4 or 5, the right data panel will automatically load the corresponding dimensions and measures from this dataset. You can then drag them to the field area.

Data Configuration

The following example uses Entry point 1.

Insert a Dataset Table

On the workbook editing page, click Dataset > Dataset Table on the toolbar.
In the Data pane, click Select Dataset and select a dataset from the drop-down list. This syncs the fields from the dataset to the Dimensions and Measures areas.
On the Field tab, select a display mode for the dataset table: Aggregation or Detail.
- Aggregation: Aggregates the values of measure fields based on dimensions. For example, you can sum the order amounts by region to display the total sales for each region.
- Detail: Displays each record from the raw data without any aggregation. For example, you can show each individual order amount for every region.

Select the required dimension and measure fields to add data to the workbook.
In Aggregation mode, you can configure fields in one of the following ways:
- Method 1: Add dimension fields to the Rows area and measure fields to the Columns area.
  1. On the Field tab, select the required dimension and measure fields:
    - In the Dimensions list, double-click or drag Province, Product Type, and Product Package to the Rows area.
    - From the Measures list, double-click or drag Order Amount, Shipping Cost, and Profit Amount to the Columns area.
  2. Click Update. The workbook automatically updates.
- Method 2: You can add dimension fields to the Rows area and measure and dimension fields to the Columns area as follows.
  1. On the Field tab, select the required dimension and measure fields:
    - From the Dimensions list, double-click or drag Province to the Rows area.
    - From the Dimensions list, drag Product Type to the Columns area.
    - From the Measures list, double-click or drag Order Amount, Shipping Cost, and Profit Amount to the Columns area.
  2. Click Update. The workbook updates automatically.
- Method 3: Add measure fields to the Rows area and dimension fields to the Columns area.
  1. On the Field tab, select the required dimension and measure fields:
    - Drag Product Type from the Dimensions list to the Columns area.
    - From the Measures list, drag Order Amount, Shipping Cost, and Profit Amount to the Rows area.
  2. Click Update. The workbook updates automatically.
In Detail mode, dimension and measure fields are mixed. You can drag the fields to change their order in the table.

Configure the format of the fields.

Configuration item	Description
Date display format	Default: Auto. Supported formats include YYYY-MM-DD, YYYYMMDD, YYYY/MM/DD, YYYY Year M Month D Day, MMDD, MM-DD, MM/DD, M Month D Day, and DDMMYYYY. Note You can set the date display format only for date fields.
Alignment	Default: Auto. Supported alignments: Align Left, Align Center, and Align Right.
Sort	Default: No sorting. Supported options: Ascending, Descending, Ascending within Group, Descending within Group, Advanced Sort, Custom Sort, and Field Sort. Note Advanced sort is supported only for measure fields. Custom sort and field sort are supported only for dimension fields.
Field display content	Set a display name.
Data display format	Default: Auto. Supported formats: Integer, 1 decimal place, 2 decimal places, Percentage, Percentage with 1 decimal place, Percentage with 2 decimal places, and Custom. Note You can set the data display format only for measure fields. If you select Custom and set the format type to Numeric or Percentage, you can set the format for negative numbers to -1234 or (1234). You can also select Use thousands separator.
Aggregation method	Supported methods: Sum, Average, Count, Distinct Count, Maximum, Minimum, Population Standard Deviation, Sample Standard Deviation, Population Variance, Sample Variance, and Last Day. Note You can set the data display format for measure fields only.
Advanced calculation	Supports setting Date Accumulation, Percentage, Ranking, and YoY and MoM Comparison. Note You can set advanced calculations only for measure fields.
Null value display style	Dimension fields support setting the display style for null values or empty strings. Null value: Auto: Follows the dataset configuration. Display as '-' Display as '{Empty}' Display as 'null' Custom String: Auto: Follows the dataset configuration. Display as '-' Display as '{Empty String}' Display as 'null' Custom Measure fields support setting the display style for null values. Auto: Follows the dataset configuration. Display as '-' Display as 'null' Do not display Custom Note Custom null values can contain only letters, numbers, underscores (_), slashes (/), backslashes (\), vertical bars (\|), parentheses (()), and brackets ([]), and must be no more than 150 characters long.

To set up a filter, drag the target field to the Filters area and click the icon on the right side of the field to configure the filter. For more information, see Field filtering.
Click Save.
Note
The Save Workbook dialog box appears only the first time you save a workbook.
Name
Description
Name
The name of the workbook.
Location
The location where the workbook is stored.
Click OK to create the workbook.
Note
Workbooks support the auto-sum feature of Excel. You can select a portion of the data in the workbook to view the sum.

Insert Freestyle Cells

Note

Freestyle cells are available only for workbooks that are purchased as separate add-ons for Quick BI Professional Edition and Premium Edition.

(Optional) Before you insert freestyle cells, you can set up the report format based on your business scenario.

Note

To merge cells, you must merge them before you drag fields. You cannot merge cells after fields are added.

On the workbook editing page, click ① Dataset > ② Freestyle Cell.
In the data pane, click Select Dataset and select a dataset from the drop-down list.
Select the required dimension and measure fields. Double-click or drag the fields to the workbook editing area.

You can configure the Aggregation Method, Advanced Calculation, Association, and Delete settings for the fields.

Hover over the left side of a measure and click the icon to open the Aggregation Method settings.
Measure fields support multiple aggregation methods, such as sum, average, count, distinct count, maximum, and minimum.
Hover over the left side of a measure and click the icon to open the Advanced Calculation settings.

Advanced calculations support date accumulation, percentage, ranking, and year-over-year (YoY) and month-over-month (MoM) comparisons.

Configuration item	Description
Date accumulation	Date accumulation calculates the sum of data from the start date to the current date. For more information, see Date accumulation.
Percentage	Set the percentage format for the data.
Ranking	Supports ascending or descending order. For more information, see Data ranking.
YoY and MoM comparison	Set the YoY and MoM comparison for the data. For more information, see YoY and MoM comparison.

You can set associations for fields.
- Click Associate to enter Association Mode.
- Hover over the Confirm Association button to switch between Aggregation and Detail data.
- Click Confirm Association. The association is created. In this example, Order Date (year) is associated with Order Quantity, Order Amount, and Profit Amount.
- You can also click Cancel Association to remove the association.
You can delete unnecessary fields.
Note
- For dimension fields, you can set associations or delete them.
- For measure fields, you can set aggregation methods, set associations, or delete them.

(Optional) Based on your business scenario, you can add query controls. In this example, two query conditions are added: Year and Region.
Click Update. The system automatically updates the workbook.
Click Save.
Create a card view.

Card View

Create split-column reports and indicator cards in visual analytics reports using the card view.

Note

Card view is only supported in workbooks purchased separately in the Professional Edition and Pro.

Entry point

In freestyle cell mode, the toolbar will display the card view feature icon.
Procedure
1. Click Card View to enter the card view creation page.
2. Create a card view.
  1. Select the base table for the card view and create constraints for the card view.
    1. You can create a card view first and then manually select the data area.
    2. Alternatively, select the data area first and then create a card view.
      Note
      Fields from different datasets cannot be associated.
  2. Configure the card display settings. You can customize the number of groups displayed per row and the maximum number of groups displayed.
  3. Choose the calculation method, either aggregation or detail.
  4. Select the location for the pivot table, either as a new Create Card View Page or as an extension on the Current Sheet.
    In this example, select Create Card View Page.
3. Click OK.
4. Configure the card page view. If you chose Create Card View Page as the location, you can adjust the number of card groups per row, set filters, groupings, sorting, and enable detail viewing and searching on the card view page.

What to do next

For information on workbook style configuration and analysis configuration, see Style Configuration and Analysis Configuration.

Name	Description
Name	The name of the workbook.
Location	The location where the workbook is stored.