Working with Documents in the Indicators Dashboard

Flash Mode is a display mode that allows you to access features provided by Flash, such as widgets, which are a type of document control. Grid/Graphs cannot be manipulated in Flash Mode, except to sort and pivot objects on them.

You can do the following in Flash Mode:

Interact with widgets such as Gauges and Time Series Sliders in different ways, depending on the type of widget. For example, you can use the graph controller in the Time Series Slider to control the time series area graph beneath it.

Sort data in grid reports.

Pivot report objects from rows to columns and columns to rows in grid reports.

Quickly switch between views of a report, such as between a Grid view and a Graph view.

View the name of a Grid/Graph in its title bar, and minimize, maximize, and restore the Grid/Graph.

Controls such as panel stacks and selectors have a sharper and richer look and feel to them in Flash Mode.

If a graph uses a graph type that is not supported in Flash, the graph is not displayed.

Performance in Web may fluctuate, depending on several factors, including the number of users working at the same time in the system, your client machine, and issues with network bandwidth.

To view a document in Flash Mode, Flash Player must be installed on your machine.

To switch to Flash Mode:

While viewing a document, from the View menu, select Flash Mode.

Sorting Grid Reports in Flash Mode

You can quickly sort grids in documents displayed in Flash Mode. The only exception is that you cannot sort grids that contain subtotals.

Note: If Flash Mode is not displayed in the View menu, it may not be enabled for the particular document you are viewing.

To sort grids in documents displayed in Flash Mode:

While viewing a document that contains at least one grid, switch to Flash Mode.
Pass your cursor over the row or column of data to sort. A floating menu with icons is displayed.
Click the appropriate icon to sort the data in ascending/descending order.

Pivoting Grid Report Objects in Flash Mode

You can quickly pivot report objects on grids in documents displayed in Flash Mode. However, you cannot pivot objects on grids that contain subtotals.

If Flash Mode is not displayed in the View menu, it may not be enabled in the project or for the particular document you are viewing.

To pivot objects on a grid in documents in Flash Mode:

While viewing a document that contains at least one grid report, switch to Flash Mode.
Pass your cursor over the object to pivot. A floating menu with icons is displayed.
Click the appropriate icon to move the object.

Note: All attributes must be in either the rows or the columns. The same is true for metrics.

Switching Between Grid and Graph View in Flash Mode

You can quickly switch between a grid and graph view of a report in Flash Mode. For example, if you have a grid report in Flash Mode that is enabled for Quick Switch, you can pass your cursor over it and click the Quick Switch icon to switch to graph view. The switch is performed almost instantaneously because both the grid and graph version of the report are loaded on your machine as the document loads.

Troubleshooting Common Flash Mode Issues

This section describes some common issues you may run into as you work with Flash Mode or attempt to switch to Flash Mode while viewing a document. The issues described in this section are not necessarily issues related to defects in the application itself, but rather notes about how Flash Mode is designed to work.

Flash Mode is not displayed as an option in the View menu

If Flash Mode is not displayed in the View menu, it may not be enabled for the particular document you are viewing.

Some graph objects are displayed differently in Flash Mode

Some graph objects are displayed differently in Flash Mode, as noted below. When possible, attempt to resolve each issue as suggested below:

The graph and its legend may appear somewhat larger in Flash Mode. Note that font rotation is not supported in Flash Mode.

When the minimum, maximum, and interval properties for the graph’s axes are not explicitly specified, Flash Mode automatically renders the axis labels based on the data on the graph. In some cases, the axis labels may be positioned differently in Flash Mode.

The size of text in graphs may be different in Flash Mode.

The formatting applied to a graph's Y-axis may not be displayed in Flash Mode. This includes the position of data labels, since Flash Mode does not currently support font rotation.

Only certain graph marker types are displayed in Flash Mode. For example, a line graph marker that looks like a star may be displayed as a circle marker in Flash Mode.

The color of the graph's background may be different in Flash Mode.

Data labels placed outside of a graph's frame may not be displayed in Flash Mode.

Vertical bar graphs: The following graph properties are not applied in Flash Mode for vertical bar graphs: bar overlapping; depth; middle values; split dual axes; markers and text; displaying riser shapes other than rectangles; box borders around the Category title; Y-axis title; Y-axis and X-axis labels; legend text; patterns or pictures in bar risers; and data trendlines, regressions, and coeffecient values.

Vertical line graphs: Depth properties are not applied in Flash Mode for vertical line graphs.

Pie graphs: The following graph properties are not applied in Flash Mode for pie graphs: tilt; depth; rotation; exploding the pie slices; maintaining the graph's aspect ratio; deleting or restoring pie slices; displaying each slice proportionally to the total value; and displaying the name of the pie.

Hi-Lo-Open-Close stock graph: The first, second, and third metrics are not displayed in the graph in Flash Mode.

Overview

Indicators Dashboard