Dynamic AI HomePage

[cjbates]

We are attempting to design a Homepage that users can access via web that will allow them to select one of multiple Dashboard packages. We really like the dashboard package, because it allows you to apply one set of selection criteria to multiple reports.

However, we have encountered a navigational issue that is a big disappointment for us about your product. While I can design my free form page to include links to my different dashboard packages, as well as insert images and links to other types of documents (all that is great) we cannot seem to navigate back to the page from a dashboard package. There is no "Back" button that will return the user to the homepage and if they use their browswer back buttons, it takes them into the report navigation which has been hidden from the user.

Bob Cergol has indicated that I might be able to utilize toolbars to achieve my desired result, but I still consider this to be a considerable oversight and something that you should address in a future release.

Thanks
Cynthia

[admin]

Hi Cynthia,

Do you have a screenshot / mock-up / drawing of what you have in mind that you can share? Perhaps there is a way to accommodate your wishes. Perhaps you could embed the dashboards in a web-page.

Also, if you set a report or dashboard as the start page for a user, they can always return to it quickly by clicking the 5 ring logo () in the bottom right corner.

We are usually able to find a way to reach the desired result, and I hope we can help you too.

Best regards

Bo Andersen

[cjbates]

Hi Bo,

I understand that we can create our own webpage to provide the links to Dynamica AI, but I thought that the purpose of the free form page layout was to do exactly what I am trying to do, which is to have one central location that users are brought to when they login, from which they can access multiple dashboards.

Is there a way to indicate that when a link is access it should open in a new window? That would solve our issue of what happens when they leave the dashboard.

This is one of the things that I think is non-intuitive about Dynamic AI. Most web users automatically utilize their "Back" buttons to return to the place they were last. Clicking the Back button on the web browser brings you back into Dynamic AI directly, not back to the page.

Our typical user for this product will not be able to access the Design features of reports or dashboards-- only view the reports in their Open or Applied state, so we really dont want to confuse them with having to utilize the navigational controls directly in Dynamic AI. Im surprised that this issue has not arisen previously.

Thanks
Cynthia

[Bob Cergol]

Cynthia,

I don't understand why Bo's suggestion isn't the solution for you. If this top level page is the one you launch all the other reports and dashboards from -- just make it the users start page -- then they can just click the "start page" icon in the lower right that Bo illustrated. In the case of the demo portal I gave you a link for, I also created a menu item called "home page" that does the same thing.

As functional as "pages" in Dynamic AI are -- I don't think they are a good replacement to a simple menu -- which also seems extremely common on web sites, i.e. a panel running down the left side of the web page with the various options a user can access.

Another possibility might be to embed a URL in the report header of the various reports and dashboards that executes whatever you want, including any Dynamic AI report. But why not just let the user see a nice well-organized menu of the content available to them. Have you looked at the demo portal?

Bob

[cjbates]

Hi Bob,

Bo's suggestion will definitely work, it is just that our user base is not very savy and we will have to train them how to move around in Dynamic AI. Inevitably, someone will click their Back button and we will get a support email when they get 'stuck'.

I am still working on setting up user rights and that may help alot of they can only see the two options on the left.

Thanks
Cynthia

[Bob Cergol]

The back button actually does work quite often. But in some cases it does go back too far.
But I don't think this behavior is unique to Dynamic AI. I've seen it in plenty of other applications -- especially if it is truly a web application environment as opposed to simple page-to-page navigation. For example in Sage-CRM you must use their back/forward buttons and not your browsers. I'll bet you SalesForce.com is the same.

On our public demo portal -- it was because we didn't want to explain to someone that the 5-ring icon at the bottom was a link back to their home page -- and because every user who's ever used a browser understands "home" -- that we created a "HOME / Display Home Page" option in the report menu, which option appears in the upper left corner of their browser display.

I'll bet you had a lot more training to do for your users on your full application!
Bob

[Carsten Sørensen]

As users might navigate, drill-to, customize, AI etc. it is in my opinion smart to have an independent navigation available - that doesn't get overridden by user actions. The left navigation pane serves that purpose. Although I understand that you would like to design your own menu and display that on a Free layout page - it will not be "carry" through design, undo's, drill-to-another window, tab etc.

You can set up links on "page" type menu dashboards - and I'm rather sure you can embed the necessary "target" for such links to open in a new window - but in the 14 years we have been doing this - I certainly have seen these "hard-coded" navigation menu's get "outdated". With users own reports, new additions to the general reports that are not being updated to the central hard-coded page etc.

If you have suggestions to what is missing in the left navigation to eventually serve your need - please let me know!

Best regards,
Carsten