Understanding Master Details Events in OBIEE 11g

Master Details Events help us to trigger events on a view based on user’s interactions on same or different view. For examples, let’s say there are two views in your analysis (I am referring to sample app that comes with OBIEE 11g)

1. A simple table with columns Products, Regions, Revenue


2. A Graph with Products as Graph prompts, Regions on X axis and Revenue on Y Axis (See the image below)

If would like to update the graph based on user interactions (user clicking on the column) on the table, then Master Detail Events is your answer.

There are basically two terms that you need to understand

1. Master View


2. Details View

Master View

1. Master View is responsible for generation of events which are listened by Details view


2. A view becomes master view if you set up the interaction (tab on column properties) of a column to send master detail events using a channel (name which you assigned for the channel) and the column for which you have performed the setup becomes  Master Column


3. Channel acts like a mediator between Master view and details views by passing the events. All you do in channel is assign a name to the channel


4. Master column can be any column i.e., hierarchy, attribute or Measure and should be present in the body (master column cannot be on selection section, graph prompts or page edge)


5. There is no rule on where master view and details view should be i.e., master view and details view can be from different analysis


6. Only the following views can be master views
   
   
   
   1. Table
   
   
   2. Pivot Table
   
   
   3. Graph
   
   
   4. Gauge
   
   
   5. Funnel Graph
   
   
   6. Map
   
   
   
   

Details View

1. A details view listens to the channel specified by master view. In case of an event fired by master view, details views captures the event and responds accordingly


2. A view becomes a details view if you set up the view to listen to master-details event’s channel (should be the same channel name mentioned in your master view) for a column in its properties section. This column becomes Details Column


3. Details view can listen to any number of channels. These channels may come from same analysis or from different analysis


4. Details view cannot be a master view


5. Details column must be displayed on page edge or graph prompts or selection section


6. Only following views can be details view
   
   
   
   1. Table
   
   
   2. Pivot Table
   
   
   3. Graph
   
   
   4. Gauge
   
   
   5. Funnel Graph
   
   
   
   

Example

Create a Master view

1. Create a new analysis with some columns, I have created 3 column analysis as shown below

1. Create 2 views in the Results Tabs, 1 as table and 2 as graph as show below

1. Now navigate to criteria tab and select the column properties of product


2. Click on Interaction tab, select Primary interaction as Send Master-Detail Events and specify the channel name (“ProductSelectedChannel” in my case). Please see the image below

1. Click OK. This creates the Master view.

Create Details View

1. For details view, click edit button on the graph (pencil button)

1. Click on the properties of the graph

1. On General Tab, in Zoom and Scroll section, check Listen to Master-Detail Events and enter the channel name (in my case, it is “ProductSelectedChannel”, refer to step 4 in previous section)

1. Click OK button and click Done. This creates the Details view

Now try to click on any of the product column on the table, this would automatically update the Graph by automatically selecting the same product in the drop down list. Have fun :).