First Steps With Palo Web

First Steps
with Palo Web
Commercial Open Source

Business Intelligence for
Performance Management
First Steps
with Palo Web
Kristian Raue
Matthias Krämer
Dominik Lenz
Werner Kriehn
Dated June 1, 2010
© Copyright 2009 Jedox AG
Copyright Reserved. Reproduction including electronic reproduction and substantive recovery - even of
parts - only with the approval of Jedox AG. Legal steps may be taken in case of non-compliance.
Jedox, Worksheet-Server™, Supervision Server and Palo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Jedox GmbH. Microsoft and Microsoft Excel are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Microsoft
Corp. All other trademarks are property of the respective companies.
For the purpose of readability, brand names and trade marks are not explicitly stressed. If a relevant
description (e.g. TM or ®) is missing, it is not to be concluded that the name is freely available.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5
2 Starting the Program......................................................................................................... 5
3 File Manager ...................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Create Files and Folders ................................................................................................ 7
3.2 File Administration .......................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Create a New Group Folder ........................................................................................... 9
3.4 Create a New Root Folder............................................................................................ 10
4 Palo Spreadsheet Basics ................................................................................................11

4.1 Naming Worksheets ..................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Automatic Saving ......................................................................................................... 13
4.3 Recent Documents ....................................................................................................... 14
4.4 Designer Mode and User Mode.................................................................................... 15
4.5 Refresh Data ................................................................................................................ 16
4.6 Charts........................................................................................................................... 17
4.7 Hyperlinks..................................................................................................................... 20
4.8 DynaRanges................................................................................................................. 22
4.8.1 Horizontal DynaRange........................................................................................ 22
4.8.2 Vertical DynaRange............................................................................................ 23
4.9 Form Elements ............................................................................................................. 25
4.9.1 ComboBox.......................................................................................................... 25
4.9.2 CheckBox ........................................................................................................... 26
4.9.3 Buttons ............................................................................................................... 27
5 Imports and Exports ....................................................................................................... 27

5.1 Importing Various File Types ........................................................................................ 27
5.2 XLSX Files.................................................................................................................... 28
5.3 PDF Files...................................................................................................................... 28
5.4 HTML Files ................................................................................................................... 28
6 Palo Pivot Tables............................................................................................................. 29
7 Report Manager............................................................................................................... 32
7.1 Database Report with ComboBox and DynaRanges.................................................... 33
7.2 Palo Database Report with Variable ............................................................................. 40
8 OLAP Manager ................................................................................................................ 44

9 User Manager .................................................................................................................. 45
10 ETL Manager.................................................................................................................... 46
11 Connection Manager....................................................................................................... 46
12 Options ............................................................................................................................ 47
13 Palo Web Sample Application........................................................................................ 48

13.1 Part 1: Setting up a Palo Database ........................................................................... 48
13.1.1 Creating a Database........................................................................................... 48
13.1.2 Creating Database Structures............................................................................. 49
13.1.3 Creating Dimensions .......................................................................................... 50
13.1.4 Creating Elements .............................................................................................. 51
13.1.5 Creating a Cube ................................................................................................. 55
13.2 Part 2: Creating Palo Spreadsheet Worksheets ........................................................ 58
13.2.1 Creating a Project Report ................................................................................... 58
13.2.2 Creating a Time Registration .............................................................................. 69
13.2.3 Transferring Time Registration to a Report......................................................... 72
14 Appendix.......................................................................................................................... 73
14.1 Services .................................................................................................................... 73
14.2 Configuration Files .................................................................................................... 74
14.3 Configuration............................................................................................................. 74
14.4 Backup ...................................................................................................................... 74
15 Index................................................................................................................................. 75
Introduction -5-
1 Introduction
Palo Web is a software package featuring various software modules developed by Jedox – all of which
run in a single web browser. The modules included are the Palo MOLAP Server, Palo Spreadsheet, Palo
Pivot Table and Palo ETL Server. Palo Web features the following start icons: Report Manager, File
Manager, OLAP Manager, User Manager, ETL Manager and Connection Manager. These start icons
allow you to access the aforementioned modules. Condition that you receive all launchers with all the
possibilities is that you have a premium version, and that you have all the rights. Otherwise are fewer
features or fewer options available depending on your version and on your rights.
In this document, "First Steps with Palo Web" you will find the basic operation of Palo Web and a
comprehensive application example.
2 Starting the Program

Start Palo Web via Start – All Programs – Palo Suite – Palo Web:
The login screen brings you to the start screen in

Palo Web.
Login details:
Username: john
Password: john
(john is a user login with administrator access

rights)
The administrator login details are:

Username: admin
Password: admin
Starting the Program -6-
Depending on your access rights, you may see a series of administration tools, which allow you to
complete tasks and apply settings in the Palo Web environment. Only in Admin mode are all managers
available with all options.
The first time you log in, you will be brought to the English start screen:
The assigned user access rights govern the creation, deletion and modification of entries/objects in each
module. For example, a member of the ‘Viewer’ group has read only rights, and may not create, delete or
modify anything. You can see the current mode in the Palo Web window at the top-left (shown here:
Admin mode).
After you have completed setup of Palo Web, you will generally begin your Palo Web session in the
Report Manager. As we first need a few basic principles for this setup, we will explain the File Manager
next.
File Manager -7-
3 File Manager
The File Manager allows you to create folders and files, as well as run the Palo Spreadsheet program
with previously created files.
You will see the ‘Default’ directory group and the ‘Public Files’ master directory in the File Manager. In
the Palo Suite 3.1 beta version of Palo Web, this master directory may also be called 'My Template':
3.1 Create Files and Folders

You can create a new workbook under File Manager – Default – Public Files by clicking on ‘New’. Let us
call it Test1. We will finish entering the name by pressing ‘Enter’:
In addition, we will create the new folders

Marketing and Sales:
With Palo Web created workbooks have the extension .wss (WSS file).
By right-clicking on an object, you can execute the

commands displayed.
File Manager -8-
Note: You can only copy and paste folders and files within the same root folder. To copy files in other
root folders, they must be exported as a WSS file and reimported into the desired root folder.
Furthermore, if you have been assigned the rights to do so, you can create new groups and root folders.
Important: Objects deleted in Palo Web File Manager are irretrievable. There is no Recycle
Bin from which to restore deleted objects.
3.2 File Administration

As files and folders created in Palo Web are administered in Palo databases created for this purpose,
you will first need an initial database (‘Default’ group) containing an initial dimension (‘Public Files’
directory) to work with the File Manager:
Under Palo\Data the ‘Default’ group appears as

the Palo database fgrp1:
fgrp stands for folder group, while rgrp stands for report group (which belongs to the Report Manager).
After new groups are created in the File Manager (folder groups) or new report groups are created, new
databases are created here with the same name, numbered sequentially (i.e. fgrp1, fgrp2... or rgrp1,
rgrp2 etc.)
The ‘Public Files’ directory is a dimension of the ‘fgrp1’ database. Upon creating this dimension, the
actual storage location for Palo Web files is created under …\storage, with the subfolder ‘h1-
Public+Files’.
When a folder is created, it becomes a consolidated element of the ‘Public Files’ dimension and each
workbook is a basic element of this dimension.
The objects created above appear in the folder …\storage\h1-Public+Files as such:

File Manager -9-
3.3 Create a New Group Folder

Click on "New Group".
Now enter the group name. You can optionally

enter a description of the group.
This group will be created as the fgrp2 database

under palo/data:
File Manager -10-
3.4 Create a New Root Folder

Select the ‘New Root Folder’ command.
This will generate a new root folder.
Now enter the hierarchy name. You can optionally

enter a description too.
You can now create new files and folders or save workbooks in Palo Spreadsheet to this location:
Palo Spreadsheet Basics -11-
4 Palo Spreadsheet Basics

Palo Spreadsheet is a browser based spreadsheet program. We will start this module by clicking on the
previously created ‘Test1’ file:
Palo Spreadsheet is programmed just like the common spreadsheet programs Microsoft Excel and
OpenOffice.org Calc, and thus its operation is similar. You may already be familiar with the operation of
these programs. If not, many convenient publications with instructions are available.
In addition, Palo Spreadsheet has been enhanced to read and write data directly from Palo OLAP and
create appropriate reports.
Here is a brief example showing addition (row 14), sum calculations (rows 7 and 12, column N), and
different worksheets named after the sales centers:
We will describe some specific features of Palo Spreadsheet and outline important differences to
spreadsheet processing in Microsoft Excel below.
4.1 Naming Worksheets

You can rename a worksheet by right-clicking on the tab with the name of the sheet:
Sheet names in a Palo Spreadsheet workbook must contain at least 3 characters.

4.2 Automatic Saving

In the current version of Palo Spreadsheet, no warning prompt appears for unsaved data. Upon closing
Palo Web by logging out or closing your browser window, all unsaved data will be lost.
Important: Save all data entered which you would like to retain before logging out or closing
the Palo Web browser window!
You can set the program to save your workbooks automatically at short intervals in time. You can do so
in the Palo Web core component, in row 21 of the file ‘config.xml’ in the directory …\Core2:
<autosave>
<interval seconds="0"/>
</autosave>
By entering a positive value of ‘x’ here in place of the ‘0’, data will be saved in the open workbooks in
Palo Spreadsheet every ‘x’ number of seconds. (Keeping processing power in mind, ‘x’ should be equal
to several minutes or at least 60)
To apply your changes in the file ‘config.xml’, restart the Palo Performance Server Core Service.
When you open unsaved workbooks, you will receive an Open and Repair - Dialog:
Automatic Saving Process:

With this automatic saving process copies of
the opened files are continuously stored
under filenames ending with ~ 0. Existing
copies will be numbered up to ~ 9. As time
is taken the autosave interval or the date of
the next workbook change. If the extension
of the copies reaches ~ 9, then next
autosave process will overwrite the oldest
backup copy.
4.3 Recent Documents

At the start screen Palo Web You also see the section "Recent Documents":
With the right mouse button you obtain the shown commands. With "Open" the file will be opened, with
"Explore To" you can go to the storage folder location of the file.
4.4 Designer Mode and User Mode

Two modes are available in a Palo Spreadsheet worksheet: Designer Mode and User Mode.
Designer mode is used to create an application. A worksheet is created with formulas, formats and so
on. The cells available for data input in User mode are then specified by selecting ‘Locked’ or ‘Unlocked’.
(Under Format – Cells... – Protection – Lock Cells).
In User mode you can now work with this application. You may only enter data into cells that are
‘unlocked’. Other than this, you may not make any changes to the application in User mode.
You can switch to User mode under View:
This command is also available as a button on

the toolbar:
You will see the Close button in User mode, which will take you back to Designer mode by clicking on it:
At the bottom right-hand side in the Palo Spreadsheet worksheet, you will see the mode that you are
currently in:
As long as a worksheet is open in User mode, Designer mode is suspended for this worksheet:
4.5 Refresh Data

Depending on the complexity of a workbook, you need to decide whether data in the workbook is
refreshed automatically or manually. You can click on these options in the Data menu:
If you check the box next to Auto-Refresh Data,

you can specify the interval in seconds at which
data is auto refreshed:
For performance reasons you should not specify

an Auto-Refresh interval under 10 seconds.
Refresh applies to all functions that are not refreshed continuously:

Ex.: PALO.DATA(), RANDOM NUMBER(), TODAY(), etc.
The function SUM(), for example, is recalculated immediately after a cell is modified in the sum range.
4.6 Charts
You can create a chart by selecting ‘Insert –
Chart…’
The following dialog box will appear:
In addition to the standard types of chart, you will also find a group of chart types called Meter.
Meter chart example with definitions of color areas:
Chart area: A1:G6

Data grouped by Column
The speedometer needle shows the values in column B.
The definition order of the meter color areas is set in the default palette as follows: green, yellow, red,
gray, blue, etc.
Start green: C2 Start yellow: D2 Start red: E2 Start gray: F2 Start blue: F2
End green: C3 End yellow: D3 End red: E3 End gray: F3 End blue: F3
Later colors overlap earlier colors (Example: Blue covers Gray up 20 to 30).
The greatest values in the chart area (in the example the value of E5: 200) defines the end value of the
speedometer.
You can edit or delete the chart by right-clicking on it.

Under "Format Chart Properties ..." you will see under "Zones" the default colors. There you can select a
different color palette:
And you can choose a different color by clicking on a color:
Under "Points" you can change accordingly the colors of the speedometer needles.
Under "Scales" you can set the speedometer area.
4.7 Hyperlinks
You will find the item ‘Hyperlink…’ under the Insert menu:
The following dialog box will appear:
You must fill in the field ‘Text to display’ in order to create a hyperlink.
In addition to the standard hyperlinks from worksheet cells, worksheets, files, websites, email addresses
and so on, a second tab called ‘Transfer’ is available. You can transfer cell contents to new cells with this
tab:
This hyperlink copies (!) the contents of the cell Sheet1!$A$10 to the cell Sheet3!$A$50 when it is
clicked on. Before clicking OK, you have to confirm your transfer entries with the update-button.
4.8 DynaRanges
Under the ‘Tools’ menu you have the option of
creating vertical and horizontal DynaRanges.
DynaRange is a viewing tool designed especially
for work with Palo OLAP databases. It allows you
to display values from these databases
dynamically.
Please note: on worksheets which contain

DynaRanges, you should not create named areas
which have as scope the entire workbook.
4.8.1 Horizontal DynaRange

Let us select D4:D6 and enter a horizontal DynaRange here using the command "Tools - DynaRange -
Horizontal DynaRange" (or alternatively: using the Horizontal DynaRange toolbar icon):
We will select the dimension ‘Years’ of the ‘Demo’ database on the ‘General’ tab and click on OK:
The result looks like this:
4.8.2 Vertical DynaRange

Now we will select C5:E5 and enter a vertical DynaRange here with the following specifications:
We need to enter a function into cell D5 in order to

display values from the database in the worksheet.
To do so, we will select ‘Palo – Paste Data
Function…’:
In the following dialog box, we will select the

database and cube, and then activate ‘Guess
Arguments’:
The result looks like this:
The following view will appear by selecting ‘View – Quick View’ or ‘Designer Preview’:
For performance reasons, a maximum of four elements will appear for each dimension in this quick view.
A complete view is available in the Report Manager.
A more detailed example has been outlined in the Report Manager chapter.
4.9 Form Elements

4.9.1 ComboBox
The DynaRange views outlined in the previous subchapter can be set up even more easily with a
ComboBox. As the full view can only be seen in the Report Manager, the ComboBox will be illustrated in
more detail in the Report Manager chapter.
4.9.2 CheckBox
You can create a
checkbox in any cell in a
worksheet by selecting
"Tools – Form Elements –
Checkbox…".
The following dialog box
will appear:
With ‘Checked’, the checkbox is given the value ‘True’; selecting ‘Unchecked’ makes its response value
‘False’. You can choose to have the response value displayed in a target cell of your choice or have it
called up with the variable names, such as a variable in an IF function. =IF(CheckBox1;A1;A2).
Notes on Checkbox:
1. With entry of "Checkbox1" as "Named Range" the name is known in the file, with entry of
"Checkbox1" as a variable the name is known throughout the Palo Web session.
2. Is "Checkbox1" registered as a "Named Range" and the Checkbox1 is later deleted, then the
defined name "Checkbox1" has the last selected entry. The defined name "Checkbox1" is not
deleted when you delete the Checkbox1.
By right-clicking on the checkbox, you can edit, delete

or assign a macro to it:
Imports and Exports -27-
4.9.3 Buttons
The command ‘Tools – Form Elements – Button…’
allows you to create a button in any worksheet, which
you can also assign a macro to by right-clicking:
5 Imports and Exports
5.1 Importing Various File Types

The ‘Import file’ button in the File Manager can be used to import the following file types: DOC, GIF,
HTML, JPG, PDF, PPT, TXT, WSS, XLS and XLSX.
WSS files not created in your Palo Spreadsheet or which are not displayed in your Palo Web cannot
simply be copied to the folder …\storage to open them in Palo Spreadsheet as their existence must be
noted in the associated Palo database. As a result, WSS files that are not displayed must first be
imported.
To do so, select the ‘Import file’ command in the File Manager:
Import allows WSS files created in other environments to be integrated into your Palo Web as
workbooks. Following import, the files will appear in the File Manager and can be opened and edited as
usual.
All other file types are saved statically in the File Manager, however they can be provided as a download
in an application with the hyperlink function.
Imports and Exports -28-
5.2 XLSX Files

It is possible in Palo Web to import XLSX files either as a static file (refer to the final subchapter) or in a
Palo Spreadsheet workbook (WSS file). The XLSX file type, the standard Excel 7.0 file format, is the only
non-WSS file format that can be imported into a Palo Spreadsheet workbook. You can also create XLSX
files with earlier versions of Excel. However, you must have the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for
Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats installed to be able to do so. You can download this pack
free of charge at the Microsoft Download Center.
To import an XLSX file into a Palo Spreadsheet workbook,

select ‘File – Import…’ in an open Palo Spreadsheet
worksheet.
Note: Only XLSX files can be imported using the ‘File –

Import…’ command in Palo Spreadsheet.
You also have the option of exporting workbooks

as an XLSX file in Palo Spreadsheet.
5.3 PDF Files

This menu item is planned for future versions. In version 3.1 the item has no function.
5.4 HTML Files

HTML files can be created in the same way as XLSX files.
Palo Pivot Tables -29-
6 Palo Pivot Tables

We will create a Palo Pivot file in the File Manager
by clicking on ‘New’, call it ‘Pivottest1’, and double
click on it.
Select a cube in the following dialog box and click

on ‘Create’:
You can now drop fields to fill the horizontal and vertical axes:
You can adjust the view using the + and - buttons:

After saving and closing ‘Pivottest1’, you can

select ‘Properties’ using the right mouse button:
You can hide various buttons on the ‘Options’ tab.
The buttons selected to hide will only become

effective after you have dragged Pivottest1 into a
folder in the Report Manager and opened it in the
User view of the Report Manager.
As a result, you will have a pivot table view for which you can no longer change the settings:
Report Manager -32-
7 Report Manager
The Report Manager has the following advantages:
• Database reports with DynaRanges are displayed in full.
• You can work with variables in Palo Database Reports.
Just as in the File Manager,

you can also create new
groups in the Report Manager
(equivalent to a database
rgrp* in Palo):
You can create new report

hierarchies (equivalent to
dimensions in rgrp*):
You can create a new folder

via the button
or from the context menu:
You still need to create reports in the File Manager, which you can then drag as a so-called nodal point
into a folder or report hierarchy. We will try this out in the next example.
Report Manager -33-
7.1 Database Report with ComboBox and DynaRanges

To create a new report, let us go into the File Manager and create the workbook ‘Report 1’. We will now
double click on ‘Report 1’ and select ‘Tools – Form Elements – ComboBox…’:
We will enter ‘Region’

as the name and start
the subset editor (red
arrow).
Notes on Checkbox:
1. With entry of "Region" as "Named Range" the name is known in the file "Report 1", with entry of
"Checkbox1" as a variable the name is known throughout the Palo Web session.
2. Is "Region" registered as a "Named Range" and the Combobox Region is later deleted, then the
defined name "Region" has the last selected entry. The defined name "Region" is not deleted
when you delete the Combobox.
Report Manager -34-
Here, we can apply settings for the ComboBox. We will select ‘Regions’ on the ‘General’ tab:
We will switch to the ‘Hierarchy’ tab, activate this filter, select ‘Start level 1’ and ‘End level 2’ and click on
‘Paste’:
Report Manager -35-
We will also close the ‘Format Control’ dialog box by clicking on OK:
The list box to the right will appear:
We will now enter a horizontal DynaRange again into D4:D6, with the second hierarchy level as the
dimension of ‘Years’:
The view to the right will appear:

Report Manager -36-
We will now highlight C5:E5 and select the ‘Vertical DynaRange’ command:
On the ‘General’ tab we will select the ‘Demo’ database and the dimension of ‘Regions’:
Let us now check the ‘Activate this filter’ box as well as the first ‘Variable’ box on the ‘Hierarchy’ tab.
We will select ‘Region’ as the variable.

Report Manager -37-
It will appear like this:
We just need the PALO.DATA function in cell C5 now. Select ‘Palo – Paste Data Function…’.
In the following dialog box, we will select the

database and cube, and then activate ‘Guess
Arguments’:
Now we will just set the number format of ‘Number’ with 0 decimal places:
Report Manager -38-
By selecting ‘View – Quick View’ or the ‘Designer Preview’ icon, it appears like this:
The ‘Region’ ComboBox will now allow us to select

each subregion:
For example, by selecting ‘North’ it will look like this:
Now save and close ‘Report 1’.

Report Manager -39-
For a complete view of the

data, let us now go into the
Report Manager and drag
‘Report 1’ over to ‘Hierarchy’.
We will now click on ‘User

preview’:
Double clicking on ‘Report 1’ will present us with a full view of all of our data in the Report Manager:
Report Manager -40-
7.2 Palo Database Report with Variable

In this example, we will create the folder ‘Units’ in
‘Hierarchy’:
Now switch to the ‘Variable Mapping’ tab and select the Palo List type:
It will look like this:
Here, select ‘Regions’ in the Demo database and click on ‘Apply mapping’.
Report Manager -41-
Now switch to the File Manager. Recreate the following Palo view in a new workbook called ‘Units
Hardware’:
In order to work with ‘Regions’ as a variable, we will replace ‘PALO.ENAME(…)’ in cell A3 with
‘=@Regions’.
Note: Variables for use in Palo views are always defined by =@[Dimension name].
Let us save and close this file. We will now switch back to the Report Manager and drag ‘Units
Hardware’ over to Units. We will activate the ‘Units’ folder and go to the ‘Template Mapping’ tab, where
we will activate our mapping of variables:
Report Manager -42-
Once the variable settings have been accepted,

the variables are entered by clicking on ‘User
preview’.
We can now double click on the file ‘Units

Hardware’ from Italy, for example, which will look
like this:
Report Manager -43-
You can set a report view like this as the default homepage using the right mouse button:
By doing so, this will be the first screen that appears in Palo Web for each standard user.
When setting as group homepage, the dialog box

to the right will appear:
The members of the Sales group will start the program with the homepage selected here.
OLAP Manager -44-
8 OLAP Manager
The OLAP Manager gives you access to Palo Database Modeller as well as Palo Database Admin.
Here, you can create or delete Palo databases, or change the structure of existing databases. Refer to
the Palo manual for a more detailed explanation.
User Manager -45-
9 User Manager
Here, you can create, delete or change the details of users and user groups.
Important:
After changing the administrator password, these changes must also be made for the following services:
1. For ‘PaloPSHttpdService (Apache)’ in the ‘config.php’ file
in the directory …\Palo Suite\httpd\app\etc
2. For ‘Palo WSS3 Core Service’ in the ‘palo_wss3_config.xml’ file
in the directory …\ Palo Suite\core2
As a final step, these services must be restarted in this order.
Note: Although it is theoretically possible that two users register under the same account, we strongly
recommend that you create a separate account for each user.
ETL Manager -46-
10 ETL Manager
Here, you can extract source data from previous systems, transform it to be usable in a Palo database,
and load it into the Palo database.
The required steps are explained in detail in the Palo ETL Server manual.
11 Connection Manager
Here, you can create or delete database connections or database servers, or change their details.
Options -47-
12 Options
Please click on bottom left of the Palo Web window on the button options:
Under General you can set the following points:

• Language (German, English, French)
• Presentation (color scheme blue or gray)
• Standard directory of the File manager
• Standard directory of the Report Manager
Please note that the personal setting of the default directory for the report manager overwrites the
setting of the homepage-. Then a chosen default homepage will not be loaded.
Under spreadsheet you can set whether you receive in Palo spreadsheet the classic menu bar or
following Ribbon menu:
Under Palo Online you can enter your access to "MyPalo Community" so that you receive the "MyPalo
Community" with the switch "MyPalo" in the menu Palo of the spreadsheet.
Palo Web Sample Application -48-
13 Palo Web Sample Application

As an example, a Palo Spreadsheet workbook will be created for company employees around the globe
to enter time data. These entries are applied in a Palo database and desired aggregations are applied.
This example is divided into two parts. In the first part, the Palo database will be created as a cube ,
while in the second part a Palo Spreadsheet workbook will be created for employees around the globe to
enter time data. We will start by creating a Palo database and defining the structures of the cube.
13.1 Part 1: Setting up a Palo Database

13.1.1 Creating a Database
We will call our example ‘Sample’. In the Admin mode bar, select Palo Admin:
Click on ‘Palo Wizard’ (red arrow).
The Palo Wizard dialog box will appear:
Leave the settings in Select Connection as ‘Palo local’ and select ‘New Database’. Enter ‘Sample’ as the
database name and click on ‘Finish’.
A notification will appear after the database has been successfully created. Confirm the message by
clicking on OK. The Palo Wizard is then closed. The database you just created can be used now.
Next, create the necessary structures in the Modeller .
13.1.2 Creating Database Structures

The Modeller allows you to create and administer cubes, dimensions and elements in databases. Open
the Modeller and select the ‘Sample’ database .
You will now see the left blank box, where you can enter the new dimensions.
13.1.3 Creating Dimensions

We will need these dimensions: Projects, Resources, Months, Days and Measures. Use your mouse to
click on the Dimensions and Global Subsets area in the window. Finally, press ‘ENTER’.
1. Create the new dimension.

2. Rename ‘New Dimension’ as ‘Projects’.
Follow these steps to create all further

dimensions:
13.1.4 Creating Elements

Once the dimensions are available, their elements must be created.
If necessary, they must be consolidated and mapped hierarchically.
13.1.4.1 Projects
You will need the following structure for this dimension:
All Projects
Internal
• 001 Website
• 002 Flyer
External
• 101 Smith & Co.
• 102 Mayer Ltd.
• 103 South Corp.
Create these elements using the ‘New

Element’ button.
The elements must now be

consolidated.
Double click on ‘Internal’ or use
the ‘Consolidate Elements’
button at the bottom of the
window.
In the next window, select both Element 001 Website and 002 Flyer for consolidation. You can assign
elements either by double clicking on them or clicking on the blue arrow next to the ‘Consolidated
Elements’ area.
Finish the process by clicking on the green checkmark.

Please consolidate the following elements in the same way: ‘101 Smith Corp.’, ‘102 Mayer Ltd.’ and ‘103
South Corp.’ to ‘External’. Now consolidate ‘Internal’ and ‘External’
to ‘All Projects’. Finally, map the elements hierarchically.
Compare this with the

structure described earlier:
All Projects
Internal
• 001 Website
• 002 Flyer
External
• 101 Smith & Co.
• 102 Mayer Ltd.
• 103 South Corp.
13.1.4.2 Resources
Let us create the elements for the ‘Resources’ dimension in the same way.
The basic elements of Frank, Bill, Mike, Tom and Bob shall be created and consolidated to ‘All
Resources’.
13.1.4.3 Months
The dimension of Months should have the following element structure:
Of course, Qtr. 4 should also contain ‘Nov’ and ‘Dec’.
13.1.4.4 Days
The dimension of Days should have the following element structure:
The ‘Days’ elements continue in sequence up to ‘31’.

13.1.4.5 Measures
This dimension comprises the elements of
‘Actual hours’ and ‘Budget hours’.
13.1.5 Creating a Cube

The next window displays the dimensions created again, which are: Projects, Resources, Month, Days
and Measures.
Clicking on ‘New Cube’ opens another window.

Enter ‘Timesheet’ as the name here. Assign the dimensions listed above to the cube by highlighting
them. Click on ‘Projects’. While holding down the Shift key, click on ‘Measures’. You will see the
highlighted dimensions in the following illustration:
Now click on the right arrow. This will add dimensions to the cube . Finally, click on ‘Finish’.
The cube will now be created. You will see the result in the next illustration:
If you decide that you would rather have a different dimension name after the cube has been created,
you can change it easily via the context menu that appears upon right-clicking:
This allows you to easily adjust names in case of changes. The structures remain unaffected.
Names of company departments or divisions may happen to change. It is useful in such events to be
able to just change a simple name without having to recreate all of your data.
And we have just completed the first task.
13.2 Part 2: Creating Palo Spreadsheet Worksheets

Now we will start the second part. We will create a Palo Spreadsheet application using the cube we just
created.
13.2.1 Creating a Project Report

Open a new Palo Spreadsheet workbook. We will call up the required structures from Palo.
13.2.1.1 Pasting Structures from Palo

Click on ‘Palo – Paste View’ in the menu. Select the dimension ‘Projects’ as the rows and ‘Measures’ as
the columns.
Complete the dialog by clicking on ‘Paste’.

Open the consolidated element ‘All Projects’ by double clicking on it. Continue accordingly for the
following consolidated elements. The application will now look like this:
Move the consolidated elements down and delete the empty rows. Afterwards, the elements should be in
this order:
Make column D smaller and highlight cell E7. Now click on ‘Paste Elements’ and select ‘Resources’.
Click on ‘Show all’ and then on B (red arrow). Using the blue arrow, add the elements to the pick list.
Click on ‘Paste horizontally’ to complete.
It should now look like this:
Click on cell E8 and select the command ‘Palo – Paste Data Functions’. Make sure that the ‘Timesheet’
cube is activated and check ‘Guess arguments’
Now click on ‘Paste’.
The workbook will now look like this:
Replace ‘All Projects’ in the pasted function with $A8. Copy the function to the cell area E8:I15:
13.2.1.2 Inserting a Chart

Highlight the area A7:C12.
Using Insert/Chart, insert a column chart.
Adjust this chart to the area A16:I30.

13.2.1.3 Recording Budget Hours

In column C (‘Budget hours’), enter the budget hours for each project. Note that values to be splashed
can only be entered preceded by the number sign. Record the following values: 800, 400, 600, 700 and
400. The results will be displayed immediately in the chart accordingly.
Finally, it should look like this:
Change the ‘Year’ dimension to the month of ‘Jan’. To do so, double click on ‘Year’ and select ‘Jan’ from
the ‘Choose Element’ dialog that opens.
Watch how Palo automatically breaks down the annual project values into the months. The chart is again
updated immediately:
Format the areas B7:C15 and E7:I15 as follows:

13.2.2 Creating a Time Registration

Now let us create a new WSS3 workbook titled ‘Time registration’. To create a timesheet for employees’
actual hours, open this file and click on ‘Palo – Paste View’. Drag the ‘Projects’ dimension into the
column heading and the ‘Days’ dimension into the row heading. After clicking on ‘Paste’ it should look
like this:
Adjust the display so that the projects are only visible from ‘Internal’. Only the consolidated element is
visible in ‘External’. Adjust the display of days so that all days can be seen. You can do so by double
clicking on the consolidated element. Finally, delete row 8 (‘All days’). The worksheet will change as
shown below:
13.2.2.1 Time Registration

Switch ‘All Resources’ to the first employee, ‘Frank’ and the ‘Year’ to ‘Jan’:
Frank can now enter his ‘Actual hours’. We will enter this information for the first three days of the month
for him: The values 8, 4, and 2 under ‘001 Website’, and the values 1, 3 and 6 under ‘002 Flyer’. Watch
how the consolidated data for ‘Internal’ and ‘All Projects’ changes. You will see Frank's results below:
Now it’s Bill’s turn.

Double click on ‘Frank’ and change the element to ‘Bill’.
Register the first three days for him: 4, 8 and 6 for ‘001 Website’ and 4, 0 and 2 for ‘002 Flyer’. You will
see how the consolidated values change again here. But in reality, Bill would actually enter this
information from another PC. Even in this case, you would see the results right away.
13.2.3 Transferring Time Registration to a Report

The entries for Frank and Bill are complete. Let us go back to your report, ‘Time1’. You will see that the
data was automatically added to the report. At the same time, the display was changed.
In Excel alone, you would have probably used the function =SUM([Time
registration]Sheet1!$D$8:$D$38) in cell F8.
‘Time registration’ in this sheet would most likely contain data from ‘Bill’ only (compare the last ‘Time
registration’ shot with the following one).
Appendix -73-
The value in F8 is 18, which is the sum of Bill's hours for the website.
This sum, 18, comes from these

values.
You would have needed an identical sheet for ‘Frank’. It is irrelevant in Palo whether ‘Frank’, ‘Bill’ or ‘All
Resources’ is selected for display in cell A4 in the ‘Time registration’ sheet. The PALO.DATA function
ensures that the correct values are written to the fields in Time1 immediately.
And that is the magic of Palo…

…. with that, this task is complete.
Now employees around the globe can enter their data to these workbooks and
they can see their budget figures.
14 Appendix
14.1 Services
The Palo Suite Setup installs the following four services for Palo Web:
1. PaloWebCoreServerService:
This service handles the data of workbooks, internal formula calculation, database access,
load/save procedures etc.
2. PaloSuiteHttpdService:
This service is an extended Apache Webserver, containing the program code for the Graphical
User Interface (GUI).
3. PaloSuiteTomcatService:
This service provides the functionality of the ETL Manager and the pivot tables.
4. PaloSuiteMOLAPServerService:
This is a Palo MOLAP server which is necessary to maintain internal configuration data, but can
also be accessed and used to store “real” databases. It will not conflict with an already installed
Palo MOLAP Server since it runs on a different port (by default Port 7921).
To end Palo Web you have to stop all four services.

To restart Palo Web, please start the services in reverse order: 4 -3 -2 -1.
After installation, the services are started automatically. You can then access Palo Web in your web
browser on this address: http://localhost:8081/ (from the same machine) or http://server-network-
adress:8081/ (from a remote machine – see subchapter Configuration).
Appendix -74-
14.2 Configuration Files

The Apache Webserver component (PaloSuiteHttpdService) is configured – apart from the standard
Apache configuration via the files httpd.conf, php.ini etc. - in the file config.php in the directory
…Palo Suite\httpd\app\etc. Here you can specify the connection to a Palo server which the GUI uses for
storage of internal configuration data.
The Palo Web Core component (PaloWebCoreServerService) is mainly configured via the file config.xml
in the directory …Palo Suite\Core2.
The (main) Palo connection is configured in the file palo_wss3_config.xml
in the directory …Palo Suite\Core2.
14.3 Configuration
By default, the Palo Suite Setup installs the operation of Palo Web on the same computer as the various
Palo services and the Palo server behind it.
If you want to operate with the Palo Web User Interface (Client) on a Palo Web installation from another
machine (Server), then there are needed the following changes on the server machine:
Please change in the file httpd.conf of the folder C:\Program Files\Jedox\Palo Suite \httpd\conf
the lines to
Listen 127.0.0.1:8081 #Listen 127.0.0.1:8081
#Listen 0.0.0.0:8081 Listen 0.0.0.0:8081
After the changes in the file httpd.conf, you have to restart on the server the service
"PaloSuiteHttpdService".
Please turn off the firewall on the server machine for the used port (in the example 8081).
After these changes, you can reach from any client machine with the following address the Palo Web
installation of the server:
http://[IP-Address of the server]:8081/ui/login/
14.4 Backup
The following description of the backup procedure applies to all files and folders created and
modifications made in Palo Web except those made in the ETL Manager.
The ETL Manager has its own file directory under …Palo Suite\tomcat\webapps\etlserver\data.
To create a backup of the files and folders as well as settings applied (Backup), a synchronized copy
must be made of the following folders:
• …\storage
• All fgrp* and rgrp* folders under Palo_Web_InstallFolder\Palo\Data
• The Config and System folders under Palo_Web_InstallFolder\Palo\Data
Before doing so, first end the three services PaloWebCoreServerService, PaloSuiteHttpdService and
PaloSuiteMOLAPServerService. These services must later be restarted in reverse order.
As you can also set the Palo MOLAP Server of Palo for Excel as the main Palo Server, please note
which Palo\Data directory your data and databases are saved to. You may need to end another Palo
Server Service and back up the associated databases.
Index -75-
15 Index
A
H
Administration tools · 6
Automatic Saving · 13 Horizontal DynaRange · 22
HTML files · 28
Hyperlinks · 20
B
Backup · 74 I
Buttons · 27
Import File Types · 27
Imports · 27
C
Charts · 17 M
CheckBox · 26
Client · 74 Master Directory · 7
Column Heading · 69 Modeller · 48, 49
ComboBox · 25, 33, 34, 38 My Template Directory · 7
Configuration · 74
Configuration Files · 74
Connection Manager · 46
Creating a Database · 48 N
Cube · 48, 55, 56, 58, 61
Naming Worksheets · 12
New Group · 9
New Group Folder · 9
D New Root Folder · 10
Database · 48, 49
Database Admin · 44
Database Connections · 46 O
Database Modeller · 44
Designer Mode · 15 OLAP Manager · 44
Dimension · 50
DynaRange · 22
P
E Palo Pivot Tables · 29
Palo Spreadsheet · 11
Elements · 51 Palo Wizard · 48
ETL Manager · 46 Paste data functions · 61
Exports · 27 PDF Files · 28
F R
File Administration · 8 Refresh Data · 16
File Manager · 7 Report Manager · 32
Form Elements · 25 Row Heading · 69
G S
Guess Arguments · 61 Server · 74
Starting the Program · 5
storage · 27, 74
Structures · 57, 58
-76-
U W
User Manager · 45 WSS file · 7, 8
User Mode · 15 WSS files · 27
V X
Vertical DynaRange List Editor · 23 XLSX files · 28

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First Steps With Palo Web

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First Steps

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Commercial Open Source

Dated June 1, 2010

© Copyright 2009 Jedox AG

2 Starting the Program......................................................................................................... 5

3 File Manager ...................................................................................................................... 7

4 Palo Spreadsheet Basics ................................................................................................11

5 Imports and Exports ....................................................................................................... 27

6 Palo Pivot Tables............................................................................................................. 29

8 OLAP Manager ................................................................................................................ 44

13 Palo Web Sample Application........................................................................................ 48

2 Starting the Program

The login screen brings you to the start screen in

(john is a user login with administrator access

The administrator login details are:

3.1 Create Files and Folders

In addition, we will create the new folders

By right-clicking on an object, you can execute the

3.2 File Administration

Under Palo\Data the ‘Default’ group appears as

The objects created above appear in the folder …\storage\h1-Public+Files as such:

3.3 Create a New Group Folder

Now enter the group name. You can optionally

This group will be created as the fgrp2 database

3.4 Create a New Root Folder

Now enter the hierarchy name. You can optionally

4 Palo Spreadsheet Basics

4.1 Naming Worksheets

Sheet names in a Palo Spreadsheet workbook must contain at least 3 characters.

4.2 Automatic Saving

Automatic Saving Process:

4.3 Recent Documents

4.4 Designer Mode and User Mode

You can switch to User mode under View:

This command is also available as a button on

4.5 Refresh Data

If you check the box next to Auto-Refresh Data,

For performance reasons you should not specify

Refresh applies to all functions that are not refreshed continuously:

The following dialog box will appear:

Meter chart example with definitions of color areas:

Chart area: A1:G6

The speedometer needle shows the values in column B.

You can edit or delete the chart by right-clicking on it.

And you can choose a different color by clicking on a color:

The following dialog box will appear:

Please note: on worksheets which contain

4.8.1 Horizontal DynaRange

The result looks like this:

4.8.2 Vertical DynaRange

We need to enter a function into cell D5 in order to

In the following dialog box, we will select the

The result looks like this:

4.9 Form Elements

By right-clicking on the checkbox, you can edit, delete

5 Imports and Exports

5.1 Importing Various File Types

5.2 XLSX Files

To import an XLSX file into a Palo Spreadsheet workbook,

Note: Only XLSX files can be imported using the ‘File –

You also have the option of exporting workbooks

5.3 PDF Files