November 2006
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OLAPObjects for TM1 Newsletter November 2006 |
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Contents:
In this issue of the OLAPObjects for TM1 Newsletter from Creeth, Richman & Associates, we bring you up to date on the latest version of OLAPObjects for TM1 - release 5.0. We would also like to take the opportunity to wish all our customers and partners a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday! May you have time to relax and enjoy the company of your families and loved ones. We always welcome suggestions for content for future newsletters, which can be anything that might be of interest to the OLAPObjects for TM1 community including tips and tricks, technology reviews and customer stories.  Tip
of the Month
In OLAPObjects for TM1 4.11 you could decide, at publish time, whether inputable cells on the current sheet would refresh immediately (causing communication with the server as soon as a value was input), or whether a refresh would be deferred until the end user clicked on the Update button. The choice could be made for the entire sheet, affecting all inputable cells at the same time. In the new release, OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0, you have complete control over the behavior of individual inputable cells. For example, perhaps the inputable cell from which the page number is selected should be refreshed immediately, while the actual budget entries need not be refreshed until the end user has input many of them, and is ready. As you are configuring a sheet in a workbook to be published, simply click on the Other Ranges button in the publish dialog box, and add cells to the Update Range. Any cells within the input range (OOI_Report in the example below) that are also in the update range, will be refreshed immediately. Any other cells in the input range will cause the update button to pop up. The Other Ranges dialog box is shown here: 
Note that like other ranges used by OLAPObjects for TM1, the update range can consist of non-contiguous cells, selected by holding down the control key. Please refer to the OLAPObjects Publisher 5.0 on-line help file for more information. Contact
information
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OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0 has been released!
Earlier this year, during the Applix International Users Conference in May 2006, Creeth, Richman & Associates announced the release of OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0, the latest version of our platform for building Applix TM1 based web applications - from Microsoft Excel, with no programming. OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0 takes full advantage of Microsoft's .NET architecture, delivers even better performance and includes many new capabilities, while retaining all the features and flexibility of earlier releases. The most visible changes include:
More information on new features can be obtained at www.OLAPObjects.com, from the release notes, and from the brochure.
Reasons to Upgrade
If you have dynamic reports with expanding rows or columns, you should see noticable performance improvements with OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0: your web pages will generate much more quickly. In OLAPObjects for TM1 4.11 (and earlier versions) all the web pages on the web site are essentially gathered in a single folder. This includes standard web pages as well as published web pages. Not only did this make it difficult to upgrade to patch releases, it also made it difficult to manage the published web pages for a large web application. In OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0, you can separate published web pages from standard web pages, and also organize them into a folder structure. For example, consider the structure under the Reports folder shown here: 
In this example, published web pages are separated into Budgeting and Weekly Reporting pages, and then further segmented based on functionality. OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0 was rolled out at several selected customer sites even before it was released. It was also subjected to an intense bout of internal testing, including the replication of several client applications previously developed using OLAPObjects for TM1 4.11. We thus have high confidence in its stability. Furthermore, now that it is fully integrated with the Microsoft .NET architecture, the code base is even more maintainable than before, improving our ability to avoid and resolve any technical issues that may arise. As the current release, OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0 will be the starting point for any new features or improvements going forward. By leveraging the Microsoft .NET architecture fully extended development has become much easier. Not only is it much easier to accomplish some goals, there are more options available with respect to what can be done. We continue to welcome suggestions and ideas from our customers and partners for new features and improvements. This active dialog has played a big part in the success of OLAPObjects for TM1 until now, and we truly value your contributions. OLAPObjects for TM1 4.11 will continue to be supported for the foreseeable future, but we do not expect to add any new features to it.
What is involved in upgrading from an earlier version of OLAPObjects for TM1?
There are two parts to performing the upgrade:
You should always plan to test a new upgrade before putting it into production. The simplest way to upgrade the software is to run the new OLAPObjects for TM1 setup program on a different web server from where the old version of OLAPObjects is running. The setup program will take you through the necessary steps. If you don't have the luxury of a second computer (which is common) and your test environment will be on a box where an older version of OLAPObjects is already running, take a look at the "Running OOTM1 5.0 at the same time as OOTM1 4.11" section on page 5 of the OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0 installation guide (OLAPObjectsInstallation.pdf). The installation guide can be downloaded along with the setup program. There are 4 basic steps to upgrading your application. Before you begin, you will need to set up a separate new IIS virtual directory for the OLAPObjects 5.0 version of your application, even if your old web site is running on the same IIS web server. The setup program installs a sample application virtual directory that you can use, or you can follow the instructions on page 15 ("Starting a new web application") of OLAPObjectsInstallation.pdf to do it manually. Once the software has been installed and a new virtual directory has been set up, here are the general steps for upgrading your application:
These steps are described in detail in the Application Upgrade Guide (OLAPObjectsPublisher-AppUpgrade.pdf) which we recommend you review in detail before proceeding. This document is available here and is also installed to your web server disk when you run the OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0 setup program. Once you have upgraded your existing application, you may wish to experiment with new features, to take advantage of the many new possibilities. The best way to get started is to review the on-line help file (which will be available from the Windows Start Menu of your web server after running setup), or to contact your OLAPObjects for TM1 reseller. You can also attend one of our free webinars.
About URLs, Hyperlink and Menu Link syntax
In versions of OLAPObjects prior to version 5.0, a typical URL looked like this:
In OLAPObjects for TM1 5.0, the URL for this same report might look like this instead:
An Excel HYPERLINK function may change as follows:
Dimension menu links can be configured using the HREF attribute as before (though the link URL syntax has changed), or using two new attributes called WORKBOOK and WORKSHEET. For example:
There are more details on URL and link syntax in the Application Upgrade Guide (OLAPObjectsPublisher-AppUpgrade.pdf), the release notes and the on-line help file.
How to get OLAPobjects for TM1 5.0
If your annual maintenance payments are current and up to date, you are entitled to this upgrade at no additional charge. To get the upgrade please contact your OLAPObjects for TM1 reseller, or if you have a current user ID and password, you can download it from www.olapobjects.com/Eval. Please refer to the file OLAPObjectsInstallation.pdf, also downloadable from www.olapobjects.com/Eval for complete installation and upgrade instructions. It is strongly recommended that any web application developed using a prior version of OLAPObjects for TM1 or OLAPObjects Publisher be tested thoroughly with the new release prior to cutting over to the new version. Your OLAPObjects for TM1 reseller will be able to provide advice if there are any questions. Sign Up for Free OLAPObjects for TM1 webinars If you are currently evaluating alternatives for web-enabling an existing TM1 application, or if you wish to take your current web solution beyond Excel style reporting, we would be delighted to “see” you at one of our FREE webinars. To sign up on-line to attend a free webinar, please click here or call (203) 563-0760. Milestones
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