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Universe Editing (UNXpert)

Edit published .unx universes from the MetaMiner Client: change table names, qualifiers and owners, swap connections, and switch query stripping on or off, without opening Information Design Tool.

License and permission

  • Remap Connections... needs the Remap Universe permission.
  • Enable Strip query / Disable Strip query and Reset Object... need the Reset object permission.
  • View Structure... needs a license that includes universe metadata processing.
  • Permissions are set per role in the MetaMiner Administrator. See Permissions Reference and Editions and Licensing.
  • Changes are written by the MetaMiner Server with the service account of the environment. That account must be able to retrieve and publish the universe.

How it works

UNXpert is the set of universe commands in the right-click Modify and View menus of the CMS Explorer. For each change, the MetaMiner Server retrieves the universe from the repository, applies the change and publishes the universe back to the same location. Web Intelligence documents that use the universe pick up the change the next time they are refreshed.

Command Menu Works on What it does
Update Tables... Modify .unx universe Rename tables and change their qualifier and owner (schema)
Remap Connections... Modify .unx universe Point the universe at another connection
Enable Strip query / Disable Strip query Modify .unx universe, Web Intelligence document Switch query stripping on or off
Reset Object... right-click universe, document, Crystal report Re-read the object's metadata into MetaMiner on the next pull
View Structure... View universe Show tables, joins, contexts, classes and objects in a tab

Back up before you publish

Publishing overwrites the universe in the repository. Take a copy first with Save > Save as BIAR Backup... or a backup job (Backup and Promote Wizard).

Update tables

Use this to move a universe to another schema or database, or to fix table names after a database change.

  1. In the CMS Explorer, select one .unx universe.
  2. Right-click and choose Modify > Update Tables.... The Update Tables / Universe: dialog lists every table with Table Name, Qualifier and Owner.
  3. Select one or more rows and right-click:
    • Edit Table Name to change the table name.
    • Edit Qualifier/Owner to change the qualifier and the owner (schema).
  4. In the edit dialog, enter the new value. Tick Delimit next to a field to wrap the value in database delimiters (for names with spaces, mixed case or reserved words). Click Update.
  5. Repeat for other tables, then click Save. MetaMiner publishes the universe.

Image of the Update Tables dialog with the Edit Qualifier/Owner dialog open and Delimit ticked

images/client/unxpert-update-tables.png

Note

Update Tables... writes .unx universes only. Use the SAP Universe Design Tool for .unv universes.

Remap the universe connection

  1. Select one or more .unx universes.
  2. Choose Modify > Remap Connections....
  3. In the Connection Remapper dialog, right-click each connection and choose Select Target Connection....
  4. Click OK or Run in Background.

Full procedure: Connection Remap.

Switch query stripping on or off

Query stripping removes unused objects from the generated query, which can reduce query time.

  1. Select one or more .unx universes or Web Intelligence documents (one kind at a time).
  2. Choose Modify > Enable Strip query or Modify > Disable Strip query.
Selected object What MetaMiner sets
.unx universe The universe parameter that allows query stripping; the universe is republished
Web Intelligence document The document query-stripping property and the strip-query option of each data provider; the document is saved

The same Modify menu offers Enable Refresh on open and Disable Refresh on open for Web Intelligence documents.

Tip

Combine this with the Web Intelligence Query Stripping use case to find the documents that benefit most.

Reset an object

Reset Object... clears what MetaMiner has stored for the selected universes or documents and processes them again on the next pull. Use it when MetaMiner shows outdated structure after a change made outside MetaMiner. It does not change anything in the BI platform.

  1. Select the objects and choose Reset Object....
  2. Confirm. A message reports when the reset is complete.

View the structure

  1. Select one universe.
  2. Choose View > View Structure.... The Universe Structure tab opens.
  3. Use the filter checkboxes (Show tables, Show columns, Show joins, Show contexts, Show classes, Show objects, Show parameters) to focus the tree, and export it with the toolbar export button.

See Relationships and Structure for the document view and the universe relationships tab.

Image of the Universe Structure tab for a .unx universe with tables and joins shown

images/client/unxpert-universe-structure.png

Verify

  • Open the universe in Information Design Tool (retrieve from repository) and check the changed tables, connection or query option.
  • Refresh a dependent Web Intelligence document.
  • After the next pull, View Structure... in MetaMiner shows the new values.

Troubleshooting

Save fails with a publish error

The service account of the environment needs Retrieve universe and Publish rights on the universe folder, and rights on its connection. The error text is in the dialog and in server.log.

Update Tables shows no tables or fails to load

Check that the object is a .unx universe and that the service account can retrieve it. See also Pull Problems.

TODO: confirm the cause list for an empty Update Tables dialog

The dialog reads the table list from the BI platform. Confirm with SME which conditions (rights, universe type, unprocessed universe) produce an empty list.

Next steps