MCRSTR ImportData PDF

Dashboards and
Data Discovery
JS
CONTENTS
1. Import Data
Desktop foundations ................................................................................................ 7
Exercise 1.1: Download MicroStrategy Desktop ..................................... 7
Import data.................................................................................................................11
Prepare data.......................................................................................................12
Reports .................................................................................................................14
Exercise 1.2: Import data................................................................................14
Exercise 1.3: Make a grid report ..................................................................18
Business concepts: attributes ......................................................................20
Business measures and KPIs: metrics ........................................................21
Refine data..........................................................................................................22
Refresh data........................................................................................................23
Exercise 1.4: Import another dataset.........................................................24
Workshop 1: Edit and refresh your data...................................................29
2. Create a Dashboard
with Data
Visualizations
Desktop interface .....................................................................................................34
Format dashboards .........................................................................................36
Types of visualizations............................................................................................39
Grid ........................................................................................................................39
Heat Map .............................................................................................................40
Bar Graph.............................................................................................................40
Line Graph...........................................................................................................41
Area Graph..........................................................................................................41
Bubble Graph.....................................................................................................42
Pie chart ...............................................................................................................42
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. 2

Contents Dashboards and Data Discovery
Combo Graph ....................................................................................................43

ESRI Map ..............................................................................................................44
Network Visualization.....................................................................................46
Exercise 2.1: Add visualizations to the dashboard ...............................47
Workshop 2: Practicing data import and choosing the right
visualization........................................................................................................55
3. Analyze
Visualizations
Group related data objects: layer data .............................................................65
Limit data to a specific value: filters ..................................................................65
Filter a sheet.......................................................................................................66
Filter a visualization.........................................................................................68
Use visualizations as filters............................................................................69
Activity: Filter the dashboard.......................................................................69
Easily identify trends ...............................................................................................71
Sort data ..............................................................................................................71
Forecast data: trend lines ..............................................................................72
Reference lines ..................................................................................................72
Dig deeper into your data: Drill data.................................................................73
Activity: Sort data .............................................................................................74
Highlight important changes in data: thresholds ........................................75
Workshop 3: Visualization analysis ............................................................77
Create a metric based on existing metrics: Derived metrics ....................86
Calculate values in an existing metric: Aggregate By .........................87
Combine values of metrics: Calculations.................................................87
Create custom metrics using the Metric Editor.....................................89
Workshop 3: Visualization analysis ............................................................89
Enhance your dashboard: insert text or images ...........................................92
Add text ...............................................................................................................92
Add an image.....................................................................................................93
Exercise 3.1: Insert text and complete the dashboard........................93
Workshop 4: Analyze data to determine areas of opportunity .......98
4. Publish Dashboards
Annotate a dashboard..........................................................................................110
Save a dashboard ...................................................................................................111
Export a dashboard ...............................................................................................111
Export a visualization............................................................................................112
3 © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Dashboards and Data Discovery Contents
Exercise 4.1: Export the dashboard..................................................................113

Further analyze your data ...................................................................................114
5. Workshop:
Dashboard Analysis
Create and analyze the Worldwide Emissions Analysis dashboard.....116
Copyright Information..................................................................................126

Contents Dashboards and Data Discovery
5 © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

1
IMPORT DATA
MicroStrategy Desktop is a client application which provides instant access to

data. Desktop lets users create interactive dashboards to display and explore their
business data. Using simple, interactive visualizations and pre-defined,
presentation-quality formatting, you can quickly display the data in a
visually-striking, interactive dashboard. This data discovery tool empowers you to
analyze and understand your data, and easily share those insights with others.
In Desktop, datasets provide the data displayed in a dashboard. You can import
data directly into Desktop from many different sources, including local files,
databases, a Google drive, Facebook, and more. A dataset can be imported from a
single source, or different types of data can be combined into a single dataset.
After data is imported, add visual representations of the data with a single click to
make the data easier to interpret. Examples of these visualizations include grids,
line charts, and heat maps. Visualizations provide a variety of ways for you to
display and interact with the data in a dashboard. For example, you can explore
the relationships between data elements by creating a network visualization, or
create visually striking graphs that summarize key business indicators in a clear,
easy-to-understand format. Each visualization can include data from multiple
datasets at once.

1 Import Data Dashboards and Data Discovery
In this course we will focus on:
• Understanding the components of a dataset.
• Importing data into Desktop.
• Using the dataset to create interactive visualizations on a dashboard.
• Analyze visualizations through the use of filters, thresholds, and drilling.
• Exporting and sharing dashboards.
Desktop foundations
You will use MicroStrategy Desktop to create visually appealing dashboards to
display a variety of data. The basic steps involved in creating a dashboard are to:
• Import and configure your dataset.
• Use the dataset to create visualizations.
• Enhance particular data trends, or focus on specific data point by applying

options to the visualization.
• Customize the look and feel of the dashboard.
• Send the dashboard to relevant users.
In Desktop, you have many options for how to import your data. The data can be
imported from a file (such as an Excel spreadsheet), a database, a web page
(Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.), or by using the results of a custom database
query.
Attributes and metrics are the foundation of a MicroStrategy report, and are what
ultimately comprise the datasets used in dashboards and MicroStrategy
documents.
Desktop functions as a standalone product, meaning you do not need to own the
MicroStrategy Enterprise Platform.
Exercise 1.1: Download MicroStrategy Desktop

In this exercise you will download MicroStrategy Desktop for free from the
MicroStrategy website. All of the exercises in this course will use this program.
These steps provide instruction for downloading Desktop to a Windows machine.
If you are using a Mac and have difficulty, please consult the Instructor.
7 Desktop foundations © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Dashboards and Data Discovery Import Data 1
Navigate to the MicroStrategy Website
1 In your Internet browser type: www.microstrategy.com.
2 On the main page, click Download Desktop Today. In the image below, you
will see 3 circles at the bottom of the window. Make sure you click the far left circle
to access the Desktop page if needed.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Desktop foundations 8

3 Fill in your information and click Download.
4 Click Windows 64-bit to begin the download.
5 Open the downloaded zip file and double-click

MicroStrategyDesktop-64bit.exe.
9 Desktop foundations © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

6 On the welcome screen, click Next to begin installation.
7 Select I accept the terms of this license agreement and click Start.
8 When the install is complete, select Launch MicroStrategy Desktop and click
Finish.
9 On the Welcome to MicroStrategy 10 screen, click Create Dashboard.
10 Notice the Quick Tips placed around the Desktop window. Click the gray area
of the screen to dismiss the tips.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Desktop foundations 10

11 On the Getting Started and Quick Tips bar click OK.
You have now successfully downloaded and launched MicroStrategy Desktop.

Leave Desktop open, as we will continue to use it throughout this course.
Import data
There are a variety of ways to import data into Desktop and build a grid report.
These will serve as the datasets for the visualizations placed on the dashboard.
Data can be imported from many different data sources such as:
• File sources
• Database sources
• Hadoop
• Salesforce report
• Google Analytics
• Google BigQuery
• Google drive
• Dropbox
• Reports and queries in BI tools
• Facebook
• Twitter
• MicroStrategy server
In order to import data from a MicroStrategy report, as you can with a Visual Insight
dashboard created in MicroStrategy Web, you must be connected to the Intelligence
Server.
11 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Once you locate your data source, you can import the data into the dashboard by
adding a new dataset. Then you select the type of data source from the following
menu:
Prepare data
Once you select a data source you have the opportunity to prepare the data
before it is imported. Sometimes when you import data you may have to
manually adjust which objects are indicated as attributes and metrics so that you
can properly analyze the grid report. In the example below, you will notice that
Column 4 is empty and has no data and the LONGITUD is listed as a metric. Before
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Import data 12

the data is imported into the dashboard we want to make sure that we remove
Column 4 and that LONGITUD is actually an attribute.
By selecting Do Not Import for Column 4 and moving LONGITUD from a metric to
an attribute we can ensure that the data is ready to be used in the dashboard.

Reports
Reports display your business data, and are the focus of business intelligence. You
can gather business insight by analyzing data in your report. Reports are made up
of attributes and metrics. The rows of a report typically represent a business
concept, or attribute. The columns of a report generally represent important
business calculations, or metrics.
Reports can be viewed as grids or graphs, and are typically used as datasets in
MicroStrategy dashboards and documents. The visualizations used in a
dashboard are created from the grid report.
Below is an example of a simple report shown as a grid on a dashboard:
Exercise 1.2: Import data

For this exercise the Instructor will send you multiple data files that will be used
throughout this course. You will first save all of the files to your computer, and
then begin importing them into Desktop.

Download and save external data
1 The Instructor will send you the following files:
• Airline Data.xslx
• Article Database.xlsx
• Facebook data.csv
• NewCompanyData.xlsx
• NewCompanyDataII.xlsx
• Supplier Report by Region.xlsx
• Worldwide Emissions 1990-2010.xlsx
2 Create a folder on your computer titled: Desktop Exercise Files.
3 Download and save all of the exercise files to this folder. Make sure to store the
folder in a convenient location as we will be accessing it regularly.
Add new data
1 In the Dataset (also known as All Objects) panel, click Add New Data.
2 In the Connect to Your Data window, click File From Disk.
3 Click Choose files.
4 Select the Supplier Report by Region.xlsx file, and click Open. This should be
saved in your Desktop Exercise Files folder.

5 To make sure the data imports properly, click Prepare Data in the Upload
your files window.
6 In the new window, select the Supplier Overview worksheet and click Select.
Whenever there are multiple worksheets in an imported file, you will be prompted
to select which worksheet you would like to add.

7 Verify that Region, Category, and Supplier are listed as attributes, and that
Cost, Profit, and Profit Margin are listed as metrics.
 Attributes provide context to the business concepts and the metrics

represent the business measures.
8 Click Finish.
You have now successfully added a dataset to the dashboard.
9 Save the dashboard as Supplier Dashboard in the default folder location: My

Documents\MicroStrategy\My Dashboards.

Exercise 1.3: Make a grid report

In this exercise, we will turn the dataset into a grid report in the dashboard. We
will quickly go over how to add a Grid to the dashboard, while in the next chapter
we will explore the components of the Desktop interface in more detail.
1 By default the Grid option is the default for the Visualization 1 window. To be
sure you are using the correct visualization, click the Grid icon in the top of
the visualizations gallery column on the far right of the screen.

2 There are many ways to add data to the grid, which will be discussed in the
next chapter. For this exercise, simply double-click each attribute and each
metric (in order) to populate a grid report.
3 Save the dashboard.

Business concepts: attributes

Attributes are the business concepts that are reflected in your data source.
Attributes provide a context in which to report on and analyze business facts or
calculations. An attribute on a dashboard serves as a label for a group of metrics.
Examples of attributes may be Month, Year, Department, or Region. In the
following example, Region and Distribution Center are the attributes:

Attributes are comprised of attribute elements. An attribute element is the value

of the attribute. In the example above, Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, etc. are
the attribute elements of the Region attribute. Attributes are automatically
created when you import your data into Desktop. Attributes are displayed with
the following icon on the Dataset panel:
Business measures and KPIs: metrics

Metrics represent the business measures and key performance indicators. Metrics
are calculations that are performed on the data in the data source. Metrics are
similar to formulas in a spreadsheet. A metric is made up of data source facts and
the mathematical operations to be performed on those facts. These operations
allow for meaningful business analysis to be performed on the results.
A metric on a dashboard shows a list of values that are used for analytical
calculations. Metrics can be used to show sales trends, profit analysis, growth
patterns, and more. In the following example, the metrics in the grid are Revenue
and Cost.

Similar to attributes, metrics are automatically created when you import your data
into Desktop. Metrics are displayed with the following icon in the Dataset panel:
Refine data
An advanced feature of data preparation is the data wrangle feature. This allows
users to modify data as it is presented in the rows of the data source.
You can explore your imported data to evaluate its quality and usability. You can
then prepare your data to improve its quality before you import it into
MicroStrategy Desktop. For example, you can remove white space, filter your data,
delete duplicate rows or cells, find and replace data, concatenate columns, and so
on.
You can refine the data from different sources to standardize the format for all the
data. You can also use data wrangling as a data discovery tool and to bypass some
traditional extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) methods.

For example, in this case you want to separate the Camis and Location ID column.
In the Wrangle Your Data window you can choose to split the data, and indicate
the separator. The data is now split into two columns as seen in the image below:
Refresh data
Republish or refresh your datasets to make sure that the data in your dashboard is
up to date. You can indicate if new data replaces or adds to your existing data.
When you republish imported data MicroStrategy Desktop attempts to

automatically update the dataset. If MicroStrategy cannot find the data, or is
unable to update it, you must re-specify the data source. To do this, you would
follow the same steps when you initially imported the data. Keep in mind that any
data preparation or wrangling would have to be manually reapplied.
You also have the option to automatically refresh your data and to set the refresh
frequency.

Exercise 1.4: Import another dataset

In this exercise we will insert another dataset into the Supplier Dashboard, using
the Supplier Details worksheet of the Supplier Report by Region file. We will
prepare and wrangle the data before adding it to the dashboard to verify that it is
accurate.
1 On the toolbar, click Add Data and select New Data.
2 Click File From Disk.
3 Click Choose files and select the Supplier Report by Region.xlsx file, and
click Open.
4 In the Upload your files window, click Prepare Data.
5 Deselect the Supplier Overview check box and only select the Supplier
Report check box.
6 Click Select.
Notice two issues on this screen:
• Order Count and Units Sold should be metrics, not attributes

• Some of the Subcategory fields are missing
7 To move the Order Count and Units Sold objects to metrics, click and drag the
objects in to the metrics section of the table. The table should now resemble
the following:

8 To fix the missing Subcategory data, click Wrangle. Notice the empty spaces,
these should all be filled with the Art & Architecture subcategory.
9 In the Wrangle Your Data window, select the Subcategory column and from
the Function Selector drop-down list, choose Text Selector.

10 In the bottom pane, scroll to the end of the Subcategory menu, hover your
cursor over the (blank)(4) option and click Edit.
11 From the menu, click Art & Architecture.
12 You will see Art & Architecture replace the blank field. Click the double
check-marks button for Apply to All (Enter).

13 Notice that now the first 5 rows all have Art & Architecture listed as the
subcategory. The data is now ready to be imported. Click OK.
14 In the Preview window, click Finish.
15 Click Save.

The Dataset panel should match the image below:
Workshop 1: Edit and refresh your data

In this workshop, you will import a dataset into Desktop and create a new
dashboard based on that dataset. This workshop builds on the lessons you
learned in the previous exercises and in addition to creating a dashboard from
imported data, you will also edit information in the dataset and republish the
dataset.
1 On the File menu, click New to create a new dashboard.

2 Click the Add Data icon at the top of the dashboard and select New Data.
3 On the Connect to Your Data page, click File From Disk.
4 Select Choose files and then select NewCompanyData.xlsx.
5 Click Prepare Data. The Select Worksheets window opens.

6 Click Select. The Preview page opens.
Notice that the two metrics are Cost and Revenue, and the other columns are
designated as attributes.
7 Click Finish. This will return you to the dashboard.
8 In the Visualization Gallery located on the right-hand side of the screen, click
the Grid icon.
9 Drag the Distribution Center attribute from the Dataset panel to the Rows
box in the Editor panel.

10 Drag the Cost and Revenue metrics to the Metrics box. The dashboard
should now look like this:
11 Make sure that the results match the following:
• Boston’s cost and revenue are $286,479 and $335, 446.
• Milwaukee’s cost and revenue are $816,576 and $955, 795.
• Seattle’s cost and revenue are $133,763 and $158,216.
12 Save the dashboard as New Company Dashboard.
Refresh the data
You can refresh your data without having to re-import and wrangle it. In these
steps we will mimic updating the original data file and then refreshing the data.
1 If you have Excel available on your computer, open the

NewCompanyData.xlsx file. Make the following changes to Boston,
Milwaukee, and Seattle listed below:
• Row 18: Cost = $9,526, Revenue= $11,992
• Row 74: Cost = $45,409, Revenue= $59,635
• Row 158: Cost = $30,366, Revenue= $32,427

a Save the file as: NewCompanyDataII.xlsx (replacing the file of the same
name provided by the Instructor).
b If you do not have Excel, the data has already been updated and is
saved in the revised file named NewCompanyDataII.xlsx provided to
you by the Instructor.
2 On the dashboard, in the Dataset panel, right-click the NewCompanyData

dataset and select Republish Cube. The Republish window opens.
3 Click the down arrow next to Replace existing data to see the available
refresh options.
4 Accept the Replace existing data default option and click Upload.
5 Select NewCompanyDataII.xlsx and click Finish.
6 When the dataset has been republished, click Done. Notice that the
dashboard now displays updated cost and revenue data for Boston,
Milwaukee, and Seattle.
7 Click Save and close the dashboard.

2
CREATE A DASHBOARD WITH
DATA VISUALIZATIONS
Once you have imported a dataset into the dashboard, you can showcase and
explore the data through visualizations. Visualizations are grids, graphs, and other
displays placed on the dashboard that make your data interactive and easy to
interpret. You can customize the look and feel of the visualizations as well the
data that is displayed. Add multiple visualizations to create an interactive display
of key data.
In this chapter we will explore the parts of the Desktop interface and some of the
available visualizations.
Desktop interface
Before we can add visualizations to the dashboard, we first need to understand
the components of the Desktop window. The image below shows the different
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Desktop interface 34

2 Create a Dashboard with Data Visualizations Dashboards and Data Discovery
panels that make up the Desktop interface. Before we start adding visualizations,
it is helpful to know what is contained in each panel.
1 Dataset panel
The datasets, which contain the attributes and metrics, are contained here.
Build the visualizations using these datasets.
2 Editor panel
Drag and drop attributes and metrics into the Rows, Columns, and
Metrics boxes to see them appear in the visualization. Options in this
panel depend on the selected visualization. Click through the tabs in this
panel to access the Filter and Format panels which will be discussed later.
3 Visualization Area
This area contains the visualizations, and is the only portion of the
interface visible when you view complete the dashboard and display it in
35 Desktop interface © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Dashboards and Data Discovery Create a Dashboard with Data Visualizations 2
Presentation Mode. Multiple visualizations can be added and organized in

a way to best represent your data, as seen in the example below:
4 Visualization Gallery
Available visualizations are listed here. Hover over an icon to see the
visualization name and data requirements (minimum number of attributes
or metrics). More details on the visualizations can be found later in this
chapter.
Format dashboards
From the Format menu on the toolbar, there are a variety of themes and color
palettes to choose from when designing your dashboard.
Desktop dashboards provide you with more flexibility and ease when creating
visualizations. For each visualization there are a variety of formatting options that
directly impact analysis. Options such as Color By, Break By, and Size By help you
fine tune your data. You can also quickly drag and drop data objects into the
different Editor panel fields to watch your data visualization transform.
Customize the look and feel of your visualizations by using the Preferences panel,
and selecting custom color and label options. Of course, the available options are
dependent on the visualization type. These options make for quick and easy
dashboard design. Below you will find a brief explanation of the available
visualizations.

Pre-created formats: themes

A themes is a set of formatting you can apply with a single click. Applying a theme
to the dashboard saves you the time of setting formatting options for individual
visualizations and objects. Desktop defaults to the Light Theme. If you prefer a
sleeker look, you can switch to the dark theme that will switch all the
backgrounds to black instead of white. Below is an example of a dashboard with a
Dark Theme. Notice how the background and text colors have changed:
Custom color palettes

Desktop comes with a two built-in color palettes, to be used when formatting a
variety of aspects of a visualization. Define your own color palette(s) to reflect
37 Desktop interface © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

your company aesthetic or business needs. From the color palette menu chose an
existing palette or create your own as seen in the image below:
Dashboard formatting options

You can set the font, size, and color of text, as well as the fill colors for the different
visualizations. Options selected in this menu will be applied to all objects and
visualizations in the dashboard. These settings are accessed from the Dashboard
Formatting Properties window.

Types of visualizations
Visualizations are used to form a picture of business trends at a glance, explore
relationships between data, and quickly identify areas of improvement. Desktop
provides you with a variety of pre-designed visualizations that you can add to
your dashboard. These can be found in the Visualization Gallery located on the
right-side of the screen. Hover over the icon to see the data requirements for each
visualization.
Your goal is to design a dashboard with clear and intuitive visualizations that
make data analysis easy for business users. Ensure that the chosen visualizations
provide the type of analysis needed. Sometimes you may not be sure what
visualization will work best. Desktop makes choosing visualizations easy, by
allowing you to quickly switch between visualizations, without having to add or
remove dataset objects. Click the drop-down menu on the visualization pane to
switch the visualization.
When adding dataset objects to the Editor panel your visualization will begin to
take shape. See the immediate impact and relationships of various objects as
soon as you place them on the visualization. Easily move objects on the Editor
panel to see their affect. Below, you will find more information on the available
visualizations in Desktop.
Grid
A Grid is the most basic visualization used. It is a tabular layout, and enables you
to quickly and easily manipulate the visualization directly within the visualization
area. By default, when you open a new visualization, it displays as a Grid
visualization. To use a grid visualization, you need at least one dataset object in
the rows or columns and you have the option to add more. Grids provide you with
features such as drilling, adding or removing attribute elements, sorting, adding
thresholds, showing totals and subtotals, etc.
39 Types of visualizations © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Heat Map
A Heat Map displays a combination of colored rectangles, each representing an
attribute element. This visualization is best used when you want to do quick
analysis of a large number of attribute elements at a glance. To create a Heat Map,
you need at least one attribute and two metrics. Choose which metric adjusts the
size of the boxes (Size By) and which controls the color (Color By). In this example
the color display of the Heat Map was customized using the Preferences panel.
Bar Graph
A Bar Graph is the most commonly used graphical visualization. It makes the data
easy to analyze and presentable. With the use of a Bar Graph we can compare
multiple elements or series. You need at least one attribute and one metric to
create a Bar Graph. Placing the attributes and metrics in the Horizontal or Vertical
area on the Editor panel can alter the orientation of the Bar Graph.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Types of visualizations 40

Line Graph
Use a Line Graph to compare multiple series over time. The minimum
requirements of a Line Graph are one attribute and one metric. You can add extra
attributes to the Color By and Break By areas to break the visualization into
different series, and create a more detailed analysis. The Line Graph can be
changed to vertical or horizontal by placing the objects in the Vertical or
Horizontal area.
Area Graph
The Area Graph is another way to compare objects. This visualization requires at
least one metric and one attribute. The Area Graph fills in the area beneath the
data points to create a clearly visible set of data points for quick visual analysis. In

this chart the area represents metric values for each element of the attribute. By
selecting more than one metric you will see multiple areas on one chart.
Bubble Graph
Bubble graphs are used for analyzing the relationship between two variables and
detecting patterns in the data. You can customize the bubble chart by adding
objects to the color and Size By areas. You can also chose which axis your
attributes and metrics are added to.
Pie chart
Pie charts are used when you want to analyze percentage of a total. When using
pie charts, be sure to keep the number of components to six or fewer, or label
components so that users can easily tell them apart. To use a pie chart, you must

have at least one attribute and one metric. You should place the attribute in the
Slice area and metric in the Angle area. You can add additional attributes to the
Slice area. This will create additional slices for each combination of attribute
elements. You can also add additional metrics to the Angle area.
Combo Graph
The Combo Graph allows you to view multiple metrics on one graph, with each
metric displayed using a different graph type (graph types are customizable). The
minimum requirements for this graph are two metrics and one attribute. In this
example the first metric is displayed as a bar, and the second metric is displayed
as a line.

ESRI Map
The Map requires at least one attribute, but that attribute must contain
geolocation data. You can also use Latitude and Longitude attributes. Each Map
can be customized to show indicated metrics. The example below is a map
showing Supplier locations using bubble markers. The bubbles are sized by
Revenue and colored by Unit Profit.
Maps can be created in three different styles: markers, density maps, and map
areas. Within each style you also have the option to select the type of map such as
topographical, satellite, light gray (above), etc.
Map markers
Map markers are ideal when you want to display an individual marker for each
geographic location, such as a store or supplier location. You can display the
markers as images or more commonly as markers.
The benefit of a bubble marker is that you can apply metrics to be displayed by
the bubbles, as we did in the example above. These bubbles can quickly provide
you with a variety of data just by looking at the map.
Density Map
A density map is used to analyze patterns and trends for many geographic
locations. The trends are displayed by color gradients based on the concentration
of geographic data. In th example below, the density map indicates the volume of

stores in a given area. Red indicates the highest volume and blue the lowest, the
color range can be customized.
Map areas
Geographic data, such as countries, states, and counties, are indicated by colored
regions on a map. You can include metrics on the map to differentiate the colors.
There are a few base maps built into Desktop, your attribute must include data
that matches the available base maps.
Some examples of base maps include:
• Countries of the world

• United States state names
• United States counties
As an example, if your attribute contains US state name data you can select the
United States state names base map to display the data. As you see below, the

base map combined with the attribute show data on a state level. The metric, if
added, changes the color of the map areas.
Network Visualization
A Network Visualization allows you to easily identify relationships between
related items. The data is displayed by clusters. This visualization requires one
attribute, but can be enhanced by the addition of more attributes and metrics.
Attribute elements are displayed as nodes, and the lines between them represent
the relationship between the elements. Node size, edge thickness, line thickness,
and colors are indicative of relationship characteristics.

Exercise 2.1: Add visualizations to the dashboard

In this exercise, we will open the Supplier Dashboard and use the Supplier Report
by Region datasets to build visualizations and create the dashboard. We will add
Map, Network, and Bar chart visualizations. Once the visualizations have been
added to the dashboard, we will view it in Presentation Mode.
Add a Map with markers
1 Navigate to, or open, the Supplier Dashboard.
2 To remove the grid currently on the dashboard, hover your cursor in the top
right corner of the Visualization Area, click the down arrow and select Delete.
3 Click the Map icon in the Visualization Gallery.
4 In the Dataset panel, click and drag the Supplier Latitude attribute to the
Latitude area on the Editor panel, and add the Supplier Longitude attribute
to the Longitude area.

5 Click and drag the Revenue metric to the Color By area. The Editor panel
should now match the image below:
6 In the Editor panel, click the Format tab (with a gear icon).
7 In the Map style drop-down list, accept the default Light gray style.
8 In the Graphic type drop-down list, select Bubbles.
9 Select Show Legend.
10 Switch back to the Editor tab, and add the Unit Profit metric to the Size By
box.
11 Click Save.

Notice that the bubbles changed in size. If you view the legend on the map you
will see that the bubbles are colored by their percentage of the Revenue and sized
by the Unit Profit.
The map now shows us the location of our suppliers, what they contribute to the
overall revenue, and who are the most profitable.
Add a Network Visualization
1 On the toolbar, click Insert Visualization.
2 A new visualization pane will appear. Select Visualization 2. You will see a
blue box appear around the Visualization 2 area.
3 In the Visualization Gallery select Network.
4 Click and drag the Category attribute to the From Item box.
5 Add the Region attribute to the To Item box.

6 To color the relationship lines, add the Profit metric to the Edge Color box.
Now you can see that the more profitable relationships are in green, and less
profitable are in red.
7 To see these relationships more clearly, add the Profit metric to the Edge Size
box. The Edge Size feature works the same as Size By, in that the more
profitable relationships have thicker lines.
8 To analyze a metric for all the attribute nodes (on the outside) add the Profit
Margin metric to the Item size box.
Your dashboard should now match the following image:
You may need to zoom and pan within the map visualization to match the image
above. To zoom click + on the map. To pan, click and drag the map.

9 Hover your cursor over the node labeled Central in the Network visualization
to see what other nodes it connects to. The relationship lines appear in black.
10 Change the look of the Network visualization by clicking in the Network

visualization pane, then selecting the highlighted option, seen below:

11 Save the dashboard.
Add a Bar Graph
1 Click Insert Visualization to add a third visualization to the dashboard.
2 To move the visualization pane to another area of the dashboard, click the
titled Visualization 3.
3 When the move arrow appears, click and drag the pane below the other
visualizations. When you see a blue line appear under both visualizations
release your mouse.
4 Select the Visualization 3 pane (you should see a blue line around it).
5 In the Visualization Gallery click Bar Chart.
6 Add the Supplier attribute from the second dataset (Supplier Report by
Region) to the Horizontal box.

7 Add the Revenue metric to the Vertical box.
Format the chart
8 To hide the grid lines in the graph, right-click a grid line and select Hide.
9 To change the color of the bars, in the Editor panel, click the Format tab.
10 In the first drop-down list, select Shapes and Data Labels.
11 In the Shape Formatting section, change the fill color to Sea Green.
12 Click Save.

View the dashboard in Presentation Mode
1 To view the current dashboard, click the Presentation Mode icon on the
toolbar.
2 Compare your dashboard to the one below:
3 To return to design mode, click the Edit icon on the toolbar.

Workshop 2: Practicing data import and choosing the

right visualization
In this workshop, you will access MicroStrategy Desktop and create a dashboard
based on imported data. When importing data, you need to map the columns in
the data source to attributes and metrics to create the dashboard. You will also
learn how to manipulate the organization of the data in the visualization as well
as how to chose the best type of visualization for your data.
Import data
1 From the File menu, select New. A new, blank dashboard is displayed.
If you are prompted to save changes to the previous dashboard, select Don’t Save.
2 Click the Add Data icon on the toolbar, and select New Data.
The Connect to Your Data window opens.

3 Click File From Disk. The Upload your files window opens.
4 Click Choose files and select Facebook data.csv.
5 Click Open. The file is listed on the Upload your files window.
6 Click Prepare Data at the bottom of the Upload your files window.
7 The Preview window opens. Click the arrow at the bottom left to expand the
full preview of your data in a grid.
8 Click Wrangle.

The Wrangle Your Data window displays.
The Wrangle Your Data window allows you to explore data and evaluate its
quality and usability. You can then prepare the data and improve its quality
before importing it into MicroStrategy Desktop.
For example, you can remove white space, filter data, delete duplicate rows or
cells, find and replace data, and concatenate columns.
9 Since there are no corrections that need to be made, click OK and return to
the data preview.
10 Click Finish to return to the dashboard.
Rename an attribute
This dataset expresses the relationship between Facebook use and the
population of a particular state. You want to understand the percentage of
Facebook users per state. Thus, the attributes in this dataset are State and
Penetration (the percentage of a state population that uses Facebook), and
the metrics are Population and Facebook Users (the total number of Facebook
users in a given state).
To ensure that business users have a clear understanding of all the dataset
object’s meanings, we can rename attributes and metrics.
11 In the Dataset panel, right-click the Penetration attribute, select Rename,

and rename it as Facebook Users per State.

Add a visualization
The visualization needs to reveal how far Facebook has penetrated the market
in individual states. You want to create a high-contrast visualization that
allows viewers to quickly understand the connection between the population
of a state and the number of Facebook users in a state. There are many
possible approaches; a good place to start is with a simple and familiar
visualization. To start, create a bar graph that presents the state population
and the rate of Facebook use side by side as bars.
1 Click the Bar Chart icon in the Visualization Gallery.
2 Drag the Population and FB Users metrics from the Dataset panel to the
Horizontal area in the Editor pane. Drag the State attribute to the Vertical box
in the Editor panel.
3 To merge the graphs, drag Metric Names to the Vertical box on the Editor
panel.

Use Color-by to distinguish data
4 Drag Metric Names into the Color By area. This will create a visualization that
displays a strong color contrast between the two metrics. You will now see a
legend appear on the graph that indicates Population and FB Users
In addition to using Color by, we can also add the metric names to the left axis.
5 Right-click the State attribute in the Vertical area and select Left Row. The
result should look like this:

Q. What other visualization types might work for this particular dashboard?
Rename the visualization
6 At the top of the Editor panel, click the drop-down arrow for Visualization 1
and select Rename.
7 Type the new name: Facebook Users per State.
Explore the data using other visualizations
Again, the point of the visualization is to clearly express the relationship

between the number of Facebook users per state and the overall state
population. Which of these visualizations is most useful?

8 Hover the cursor over the visualization, then click the arrow icon on the top
right corner. On the drop-down menu, point to Change Visualization and
select Heat Map.
A grid is a good way of displaying textual and numerical items, but it lacks the
ability to show trends and summaries the way a graph can. Network
visualizations illustrate the relationships between items. A Heat Map displays
a combination of colored rectangles, each representing an attribute element.
Heat maps are the best option when you need to understand the impact of a
large number of attribute elements at once.
The resulting visualization shows the percentage of a state’s population using

Facebook. This visualization would be ideal except for the fact that some of
the attribute headers cannot be displayed. The heat map boxes are too small
for the text.

This is a vital element of visualization best practices. The display should always
be easy to read, and all text should be clearly displayed so viewers can quickly
grasp the information displayed in the visualization. Note the use of color
here, as well. The contrast of red and green makes the visualization easy to
analyze for someone who needs to quickly understand the information being
conveyed.
9 To create an area graph, click the Area Graph icon in the Visualization
Gallery.
10 On the Editor panel click Swap to switch the Vertical and Horizontal axes.
11 Drag Population from the Color by box to the Horizontal box.
12 Drag Metric Names to the Vertical box, to put both metrics on the same
graph.

13 Drag Metric Names to the Color by box so the metrics have different colors.
Your visualization should now match the image below:
 Ensure that you have State and Metric Names in the Vertical box;
Population and FB Users in the Horizontal box; and Metric Names in the
Color By box.
Whereas the bar graph used horizontal bars to display comparative rankings
of individual items, the area graph uses shaded areas to create a visual
comparison of the two items. In this case, the area graph compares the
number of Facebook users per state and the overall state population. The area
graph is therefore another good visualization format for users who need to
ascertain the market penetration of Facebook in a particular state.
Additionally, all of the pertinent data is visible in the area graph, which makes
it a better visualization choice for this example than the heat map. You can
experiment with other visualization types to determine whether they are
suitable for this particular dataset.
14 Save the dashboard as Facebook Use per State Dashboard. Close the
dashboard.

3
ANALYZE VISUALIZATIONS
Easily interact with your data visualizations to identify trends, patterns, and details
at a glance. In this chapter we will focus on the following features that allow you
to emphasize and examine your data in a more effective way:
• Layer data
• Filter data
• Sort data
• Drill into details of data
• Apply thresholds to highlight important changes in data
• Calculate data in new ways by combining metrics, creating derived metrics
• Insert text

3 Analyze Visualizations Dashboards and Data Discovery
Group related data objects: layer data

By default a dashboard contains one sheet, or page, of data. You can add sheets to
a dashboard to create multiple layers of data. Sheets allow you to group and
organize related data and objects. Layering your data onto sheets also makes for
more effective data filtering which is discussed in the next section.
To add a new sheet click the tab with a + next to Sheet 1 at the bottom of the
dashboard.
To access options for the selected sheet, including renaming or deleting, click the
down-arrow on the tab.
Navigate between the different sheets by clicking on the desired tab.
Limit data to a specific value: filters

A filter is used to limit the amount of data visible on the dashboard. They can be
used for an entire sheet of a dashboard, meaning they target multiple
visualizations, or on a specific visualization. When datasets contain a large
amount of data, a filter can help you to narrow down the focus of the
visualization. For example, rather than viewing detailed information for every
retail store, you can filter by a particular region, or by highest or lowest
percentage of sales.
65 Group related data objects: layer data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Dashboards and Data Discovery Analyze Visualizations 3
Filter a sheet
A sheet is a layer of data in a dashboard, it functions similarly to a worksheet in an
Excel spreadsheet. You can add multiple sheets to each dashboard thus creating
multiple pages. If filtering by sheet, the selected filter will be applied to all objects
on that sheet. Place objects on different sheets to filter in different ways if needed.
To add a filter to a sheet, click and drag an attribute or metric from the dataset to
the Filter tab on the Editor Panel. Attribute and metric filters will appear
differently. In the following example, the Subcategory attribute and Revenue
metric have been added to the Filter panel.
Notice that Sheet 1 is indicated at the top of the panel. The attribute filter
provides a check box next to each element. Click all, or click only to only filter by a
specific attribute element. The metric filter is displayed as a slider.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Limit data to a specific value: filters 66

In the example below, the Action subcategory was selected on the Filter panel.
See how the dashboard changes? The Map and Bar Graph visualizations both
change to only reflect data associated with the Action subcategory.
Right-click the attribute or metric in the Filter Panel to access additional filtering
options:
Attribute Filter Options
Metric Filter Options
67 Limit data to a specific value: filters © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Filter a visualization
In addition to filtering all the objects on a sheet, you can also filter data within a
specific visualization. Filtering a visualization works the same as filtering data on a
sheet, except the filter only targets the selected visualization.
The following are high-level steps to create a filter for a visualization, find detailed
steps on filtering a dashboard in the next exercise:
1 To insert a filter, click Insert on the toolbar. The filter pane will appear on the
dashboard.
2 Drag your attribute or metric into the filter.
3 Once the object is placed in the filter, click Select Target.
4 Click the visualization you want to target with the filter and click Apply.
In the example below, the Profit metric has been added to the Filter pane and the
Network visualization is the targeted visualization. Use the Profit slider to
indicated a range of Profits on the filter, the data in the Network Visualization will
be filtered to only show data that falls within that range.
Be sure that the filter contains objects that used in the data of the targeted
visualization.

In this example the Profit metric filter is displayed as a slider. The image below
shows how the targeted visualization changes when the filter is applied:
Use visualizations as filters

If your dashboard contains multiple visualizations, you can use an object in one
visualization to filter the other selected visualizations on the dashboard. For
example, in the image above, you could designate the network visualization
(Visualization 2) as a filter. If you were to click Electronics in the visualization, the
data in the other visualizations would be filtered to only display data for
electronics. Practice using visualizations as filters in Workshop 4 at the end of this
chapter.
Activity: Filter the dashboard

In this activity we will apply a filter to the dashboard by dragging an object into
the filter. This will filter all the visualizations that contain that object.
1 Locate the Supplier Dashboard.
2 On the Editor panel of the Supplier Dashboard, click the Filter tab.
3 Click and drag the Subcategory attribute onto the Filter panel.
69 Limit data to a specific value: filters © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

4 On the Filter panel, click the down arrow to the right of Subcategory to view
filter options.
5 In the drop-down menu, point to Display Style and select Drop-down.
6 From the Subcategory drop-down box, click Action.
Notice how the dashboard has changed.
Why is the Network visualization not affected by the filter?
7 Clear the filter by clicking the Subcategory down arrow and selecting Delete.

Easily identify trends
Sort data
Sort data to organize how the data is displayed on a visualization. You can sort
data in ascending or descending order. To sort, right-click the object label on a
grid or graph and select the sort order. The object label is the data label found on
the graph axis. In the image below, Revenue and Supplier are the object labels.
To remove the sort once is has been applied, select Clear Sort. The example
below shows a bar chart that has been sorted in ascending order. Sorting the data
in this way helps users to better visualize trends and identify key information.
Keep in mind that sorting may not be available for every visualization.
71 Easily identify trends © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Forecast data: trend lines

You can display a trend line for each metric or for a specific metric. You can use a
trend line to not only analyze your current data, but to also forecast or predict
future values. Right-click the visualization to add a trend line.
Reference lines
Reference lines can be displayed in a graph. A reference line is a user-defined
vertical or horizontal line on the graph. You can use these lines to compare,
reference, and measure against your data. In the example below, a reference line
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Easily identify trends 72

was added near the top of the graph to show the maximum revenue value for the
suppliers:
Similar to the trend line, a reference line can also be added by right-clicking on
the graph. The available types of reference lines include:
• Minimum
• Maximum
• Average
• Median
• First
• Last
• Constant
Dig deeper into your data: Drill data

Drilling allows you to explore data at additional levels of detail beyond what is
immediately visible. Drilling is available for Grid, Graph, Network, and Heat Map
visualizations. Drilling within in specific visualization will not affect other
dashboard visualizations. Available drilling options are dependent upon the
dataset and the visualization.
73 Dig deeper into your data: Drill data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.
For example, if your dataset contains geographical regions, states, and cities, you
might be interested in drilling from regional data, to state, or down to city. This
allows you to see how the data changes at different levels of the business. Below
you will find high-level steps for drilling on a visualization.
To enable drilling, right-click an attribute element and select drill. Choose from a
list of the available drill options to manipulate the data. In the example below the
Network visualization was drilled down to Supplier:
To undo the drill and return to the original data display, select Clear All in the
filter drop-down of the visualization, as seen below:
Activity: Sort data

1 In the Supplier Dashboard, in Visualization 3, right-click the Revenue metric
name on the Y-axis of the bar graph.
2 Click Sort Ascending.
What information can you now quickly determine by glancing at the graph?
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Dig deeper into your data: Drill data 74
Highlight important changes in data:

thresholds
Apply thresholds to highlight metric data in a visualization when that data fulfills
a specified condition. A color based threshold will apply a selected color to data
that meets the threshold conditions. This can make analyzing large amounts of
data easier because different colors are quickly identified.
A threshold is made up of two parts: the condition the data must meet to have
the threshold formatting automatically applied, and the formatting that is applied
when the value meets that condition. When you add a metric to the Color By area
of a visualization, a default threshold is applied to the data.
When you create a threshold on a metric, you can apply the threshold formatting
to:
• Metric values
• Metric subtotals
• Metric values and subtotals
You can also apply attribute element thresholds when you use Grid visualizations.
You can also create multiple thresholds on the same visualization, including
thresholds with multiple conditions. Below you will find high-level steps for
adding a threshold to a metric.
1 Select the visualization to apply the threshold.
2 In the Editor panel, right-click the metric to apply the threshold.
75 Highlight important changes in data: thresholds © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

3 Select Thresholds from the menu.
4 In the Thresholds window make selections for the following:
Color: Select the color, or color range, that you want to apply to the metric
when it meets the threshold’s conditions.
Based on: Determine whether you want the threshold color to be applied
to the metric's rank or its value, when the metric meets the threshold's
condition
Break by: Select the attribute level to restart counting rank or percentage
values. Select None to continue without restarting. This option is only
available for rank or percentage values.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Highlight important changes in data: thresholds 76

Color band: Click and drag the spacers to increase or decrease range
values.
5 Click OK to apply the threshold.
6 To remove the threshold, return to the Editor Panel for the visualization,
right-click the metric, and select Clear Thresholds.
Workshop 3: Visualization analysis

In this workshop, a company has delegated two employees to travel and speak at
multiple conferences throughout the year. To help these employees reach their
destination in a timely manner, their highly talented travel coordinator, Joe, will
create a dashboard to examine airport data, including the number of flights and
percent of delayed or canceled flights for each airport.
Part I
Joe needs to find out which airports the speakers should fly out of and which
airlines have the lowest percentage of delayed or canceled flights. Joe begins by
finding a dataset and importing it into Desktop. Given the particulars of this
scenario, that dataset must contain the following information.
• Total number of flights for major U.S. airports

• Total number of cancellations for major U.S. airports
• Total number of delays for major U.S. airports

For the purpose of this exercise, we will assume that Joe has located or created a
dataset that meets all of these criteria. We will import a preformatted spreadsheet
that conveniently includes all the necessary data.
Joe is creating a bubble graph for the initial visualization.
Create the initial visualization
1 Open a new dashboard in Desktop. In the toolbar, click the Add Data icon and
select New Data.
3 In the Upload your files window, click Choose files and select the file Airline
Data.xlsx click OK.
4 Click Prepare Data. You will notice that all the objects are listed as attributes.
We need to revise the data to include metrics before we can successfully
generate our visualizations.
5 Convert the following columns to metrics:
• Number of Flights
• Flights Canceled
• Flights Delayed

To convert these columns to metrics, click the drop-down menu on the

column title and select Convert to Metric.

If the preview is not expanded, click the arrow to expand and display all the data.
The data preview page should now look like this:
6 Click Finish.
Add a visualization
7 Click the Bubble Chart icon in the Visualization Gallery.
8 In the dashboard, place the following dataset objects in the indicated areas:

• Add the Origin Airport attribute to the Vertical box.
• Make the Flights Canceled metric the Horizontal box.
• Drag the Flights Delayed metric into the Color By box.
• Drag the Number of Flights metric into the Size By box.
The resulting dashboard should look like this:
The relatively small sizes of the bubbles make them difficult to see. We can
further work with the dataset objects to make the visualization more effective.
9 To improve the readability of this chart, right-click the Flights Delayed metric
in the Color By box and select Thresholds.

10 Select Red-Orange-Green as the color and click Reversed. Click OK.
11 Save the dashboard as Airline Data Dashboard.
The dashboard should look like this:.
The location of each bubble in the graph shows the number of flights that
were canceled for each airport. The size of each bubble represents how many
flights each airport handled, and the color of the bubbles represents the
percent of flights delayed.
Joe creates a filter for the Origin Airport attribute that displays only the
airports in those two metropolitan areas the employees are traveling from.

Filter the data
1 Click the Filter tab in the Editor panel to apply a filter to the dashboard.
2 In the drop-down arrow for Sheet 1, point to Add Filters, and under
Attributes, select Origin Airport. Click OK.
Begin typing the airport you want to add to the filter, and select it from the list
that appears. In addition to adding the filter, you also want to indicate the
actions the filter should take, in this case we want to include the airports in
the filter.
3 In the Origin Airport box, type the airports in the Los Angeles and
Washington, DC areas. These include:
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall
• Dulles International
• Ronald Reagan Washington National
• La/Ontario International
• Los Angeles International
• Long Beach Daugherty Field

4 Set the filter to Include.
Once the filter has been completed, the dashboard should look like this:
5 Click Save.
This filter makes the visualization much easier to read. A quick glance at the
graph shows Joe should book a flight from Los Angeles airport, because even
though the cancellation rate is higher than the rate at other airports, more
flight options are available.
While Baltimore has a higher percentage of delayed flights, it has a low

cancellation rate and more flights. On the other hand, Dulles has a lower
percentage of delays, but a higher percentage of cancellation and fewer
flights. The employees would rather have their flight delayed than canceled,
so Joe chooses Baltimore.

Part II
In this scenario, Joe is making travel plans for Sam and Alice’s annual joint Spring
Convention presentation, which occurs in April. Alice and Sam have decided that
Los Angeles (LAX) and Baltimore/Washington (BWI) are their preferred airports for
commuting purposes, so Joe can only make travel plans using those two airports.
Additionally, because their schedules are so tight, Joe needs to know which day of
the week is best for travel in terms of the percentage of delays from the respective
airports. Joe is going to determine which day of the week in April is most
convenient for Sam and Alice by creating a heat map.
Create a heat map
1 Add a new sheet for the second visualization by clicking the + icon at the
bottom of the dashboard.
2 On Sheet 2, click the Heat Map icon in the Visualization Gallery.
3 Create a filter that ensures the visualization will only include results from the
specific month and origin airport. Make sure both Month and Origin Airport
are selected, then click OK.
4 Select April for the Month attribute filter. Hover over April and click Only to
just apply that filter.

5 To filter by airport, select Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood

Marshall and Los Angeles International for the Origin Airport filter.
 Your display may differ and may show Month filter on the top and
Origin Airport filter on the bottom.
6 After the filters are applied, create a heat map that visualizes the number of
flights delayed per airline, per day, in the month of April, at the selected
airports:
• In the Editor panel, drag the Origin Airport and Day of Week attributes
into the Grouping box.
• Add the Number of Flights metric into the Size by box.

• Remove Number of Flights from the Color by box.
• Add the Flights Delayed metric into the Color By box.
7 Right-click the Flights Delayed metric in the Color By box and select
Thresholds.
8 On the Thresholds - Flights Delayed window, select Red Orange Green for the
Color, and Lowest % for the Based on option. Click Reversed to have green

represent the lowest end of the spectrum, with red indicating the high end of
the spectrum. Next, click OK.
Based on this information, and bearing in mind their travel requirements,

which day of the week is the best day for travel for both Sam and Alice?
According to this heat map, the best travel day for both Sam and Alice is
Saturday.
9 Save the dashboard and keep it open. We will continue this workshop after we
learn about derived metrics.
Create a metric based on existing metrics:

Derived metrics
Derived metrics are metrics that are created based on existing dataset objects.
Derived metrics perform calculations on the fly with available data, without
having to re-execute the dashboard against the data source. They are an easy way
to present already available data in different ways, providing further analysis of
the data.
You can use derived metrics to quickly perform analyses such as margins,
contributions, and differences between metrics on the report.
Examples of way to include derived metrics are:
• Subtracting one metric value from another.
• Ranking a metric’s value from least to greatest.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Create a metric based on existing metrics: Derived metrics 86
• Displaying metric values as a percentage of the total.
Calculate values in an existing metric: Aggregate By

Aggregation functions are used to calculate subtotals for the metric. Examples of
aggregate functions include: Sum, Average, Standard Deviation, and Median. You
can create a derived metric using the aggregate function.
To create a derived metric using an aggregate function, right-click the metric in

the Dataset panel. Select Aggregate By and choose a function. The function and
metric name will appear as a new dataset object. In the example below, the
Average function is selected for the Revenue metric:
Once the function is selected, the new metric appears in the dataset as
Avg(Revenue).
Combine values of metrics: Calculations

You can create a new metric by combining existing metrics with an arithmetic
operator. These operators allow you add, subtract, multiply, divide, or find the
percentage of the selected metrics.
87 Create a metric based on existing metrics: Derived metrics © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.
To create a derived metric by combining two metrics with mathematical

operators, right-click a metric in the dataset and select Calculation. The metric
you initially selected will appear in the first drop-down box (you can change this).
Next, select your mathematical operator. In the example below, the minus sign (-)
was selected:
Use the drop-down menu in the next text field to select the second metric. In this
example, Cost was selected:
When the new metric is created it will appear as (Revenue-Cost) in the dataset.
To give more meaning to the derived metric, you can right-click and select
rename. In this case, the new metric could be renamed Profit.
Create custom metrics using the Metric Editor

The Create Metric option is the most robust method to create metrics. Whereas
the Aggregate by and Calculation derived metrics allow you to quickly create new
metrics based on the objects in the Dataset Objects panel, the Create Metric
option provides access to a number of advanced formula, function, and object
options.
These derived metrics are created using the Metric Editor. To access the Metric
Editor, right-click a metric in the dataset and select Create Metric. The Metric
Editor window will appear:
In addition to using the listed functions and objects to build a new metric, click
the Switch to Function Editor to customize the functions.
Workshop 3: Visualization analysis

This is a continuation of the previous workshop. In Part III, we will add derived
metrics to the Airline Data Dashboard to find the best airline and day to fly. If you
remember, Joe is booking flights for Sam and Alice. Sam is flying out of the DC
area and Alice is flying out of California.
Part III
Create derived metrics to analyze airport delays
1 Navigate to the open Airline Data Dashboard heat map.
2 On the Datasets panel, right-click Flights Delayed.
3 Select Calculation.
4 Choose the division symbol and add Number of Flights in the bottom
drop-down. The new metric should be Flights Delayed/Number of Flights.
5 Right-click the new metric and select Rename. Type: Percentage Delayed
6 Right-click Percentage Delayed and select Number Format.
7 Ensure Percent is selected. Remove the decimal points.
8 Click OK.
9 Add Percentage Delayed to the Tooltip box on the Editor panel.
10 Hover over the days for each airport to see which days have the lowest
percentage of delayed flights. You will see that Saturday is the best for both
airports, which helps Joe to reaffirm his earlier decision to try and book flights
on Saturday.
Now that Joe has confirmed the airport and the day of the week, he should
determine which airline is most likely to get Sam and Alice to their convention
on time.
Determine the best airline
1 Add an additional Day of Week filter to the heat map by dragging Day of
Week to the Filter tab. Filter out all days except Saturday.
2 In the Editor panel, add the Carrier attribute to the Heat Map’s Grouping box.
The resulting visualization looks like this:
3 Click Save.
We want to know which airline is most likely to get Sam and Alice to their
convention on time.
At approximately 8%, Air Tran clearly has the best delay rate of any available
airline at Los Angeles. Assuming Joe can find an appropriate booking, he
should book Alice on Air Tran. In Sam’s case, the airline with the lowest delay
rate is JetBlue, with a very low, 0%, cancellation rate.
In this workshop, Joe was able to build clear visualizations and come to his
conclusions in a matter of minutes. In addition to planning flights for Sam and
Alice, Joe can use Desktop to plan a variety of other travel obligations
throughout the year.
Enhance your dashboard: insert text or

images
While the main focus of dashboards are the visual representations of the data,
these can be enhanced by adding text or images. Text can serve as a data label or
provide descriptive information to users. Images, such as a corporate logo, can
give the dashboard a polished look.
Add text
Adding text is an easy way to provide more information to users. Text can provide
labels for visualizations, explain the data that is contained in the visualization, or
provide additional information to users. Text can be formatted, resized, and
repositioned on the dashboard.
To add text to the dashboard:
1 Click Insert on the toolbar and select Text.
2 The text box by default will appear at the top of the dashboard. Click and drag
to move it to your desired location.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Enhance your dashboard: insert text or images 92

Dynamic text
In addition to typing static text into a text box, you also have the option of using
the dataset objects to create dynamic text. For example, if you click and drag the
Revenue metric into the text box you will see {Revenue} appear in text box. Press
enter, and a revenue value will appear. This is the total Revenue for that dataset.
Using a dynamic variable in a text box means that the value that appears each
time you look at this dashboard, will be automatically updated based on the latest
data that is available for that Revenue metric in your data source. Dynamic text is
created when dataset objects are dragged into the text box. Combine static text
with dynamic text to give the value meaning. For example, to combine the text
enter “Total Supplier Revenue:” before the metric value. The text field should read:
Total Supplier Revenue: {Revenue}.
Add an image
You can add your corporate logo or a relevant image to enhance the overall look
of your dashboard. Once you have inserted the image, you can even specify that it
opens your company homepage by inserting a URL.
Exercise 3.1: Insert text and complete the dashboard

In this exercise we will insert a text box with a title for the dashboard, insert a text
box with dynamic text showing total supplier revenue, and then insert a company
93 Enhance your dashboard: insert text or images © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

logo that will link to the company website. Lastly, we will rename the
visualizations with relevant titles.
Insert the title text
1 Open the Supplier Dashboard.
2 On the Supplier Dashboard toolbar, click Insert and select Text.
3 Click inside the text box and type: Supplier Report Dashboard.
4 With the text box selected, click the Format tab.
5 Change the Font size to 20.
6 In the drop-down list next to the font size, set the text color to White.
7 Set the Fill color to Black.
8 Type: Supplier Report Dashboard in the text box.
9 Click Save.
Add a text box with dynamic text
1 Click Insert on the toolbar and select Text.

2 Click and drag the new text box to the right of the title.
3 Place your cursor in the text field and type: Total Supplier Revenue
4 Click and drag the Revenue metric from the dataset and place it to the right of
the entered text.
5 With the text box selected, click the Format tab on the Editor panel.
6 Change the Font size to 14.
7 Change the text color to White.
8 Change the background fill color to Black.
Resize the text box
9 Click and drag the left side of the Total Supplier Revenue text box, to the right
of the screen so that the dashboard title takes up the majority of the space at
the top of the dashboard, as seen in the image below:
Add an image
1 Click Insert, then select Image.
2 Click and drag the image container to the left of the text box as seen below.
3 Copy and paste the following URL into the Enter an image field: https://
www.microstrategy.com/Strategy/media/images/homepage/mini-banners/
mini-banner_mstr-10.png
4 Click OK. You will see the image appear.

Resize the image container
5 To resize the image container, click the right side of the container and drag it
until it reaches the desired size.
Edit the image
6 Select the image container and click the Format tab on the Editor Panel.
7 Change the Fill color to Black.
8 In the Link section, in the drop-down list, select Navigate to URL.
9 Enter the following URL: www.microstrategy.com
10 Click and drag the image to the left of the Supplier Report Dashboard text box
as seen in the image above.
11 Click Save.

The next phase of creating the dashboard we will create labels for the
visualizations so that the purpose of the data is clear to users. There are a variety
of ways to create these labels, including adding text boxes. For the last step of this
exercise, however, we will change the name of the visualization title.
Rename the visualizations
1 To rename the Map visualization, double-click the title Visualization 1.
2 When the text is highlighted, click Delete.
3 Type the new title: Profit and Revenue per Supplier Location.
4 Repeat these steps and rename the Network Visualization: Profit Analysis for
Region and Category.
5 Rename Visualization 3 as: Revenue per Supplier.
6 Click Save.
Analyze the dashboard
1 View the dashboard in Presentation Mode.

2 Click the company logo to launch the homepage.
3 Explore the visualizations by doing the following:
c Hover over a data point to view more details.
d Sort a visualization.
e View drill options for the Bar Graph.
f Change the view of the Network Visualization.
g Change the style of the map.
4 Return to Edit Mode and add a Revenue filter to the dashboard. See how the
visualizations and Revenue text box change.
Workshop 4: Analyze data to determine areas of

opportunity
Sydney Electronics is a growing online store selling electronics products. The
company recently created a blog to engage with customers and increase its
online presence. The executives of Sydney Electronics want to obtain an overall
view of the successes and failures of each blog article author. They are looking for
growth in the number of views and the number of different interactions for each
author. Specifically, they are looking for any areas that need to be improved or
adjusted. In this exercise, you will create a dashboard that enables the executives
to explore the overall and detailed information about each author.
In this workshop, we will create derived metrics and apply them to visualizations
to determine the success and failures of the blog articles.
Add a dataset
1 Open a new dashboard in Desktop. Click Add Data and select New Data.
3 Click Choose files and upload the Article Database.xlsx file.
4 Click Prepare Data. Be sure to select both the Blog Stats and Followers
worksheets when prompted, and click Select.

5 In the Preview window, note that there are several columns marked as
attributes that need to be converted into metrics. Convert the following
columns into metrics by right-clicking next to the specific attribute and
selecting Convert to Metric.
• Number of View
• Number of Comments
• Number of Favorites
• Number of Shares
• Shares
• Favorites
• Comments
The revised data should look like this in the Preview window:
6 Click Finish to update the dataset.
Create derived metrics to add to the visualizations
7 In the Dataset panel, right-click the Reader attribute and select Duplicate as
Metric; the new Count (Reader) metric is created and displayed.

8 In the Dataset panel, right-click the Count (Reader) metric and select Edit. In
the Display Name box, type Number of Views II.
9 Click Switch to Formula Editor.
10 In the formula box, change Distinct=True to Distinct=False.
11 Click Save.
12 In the Visualization Gallery, click Line Chart.
13 In the Dataset panel, drag the View Month attribute to the Horizontal box.
14 Drag the Number of Views II metric to the Vertical area.
15 Drag the Author attribute to the Color By box. The visualization will display as
shown below.
The visualization now shows the number of views per month, with each line
representing a different author.
16 Add a second visualization using the Insert Visualization icon on the toolbar.
Make sure that the new visualization is displayed as a grid. If it is not, click the
Grid icon in the Visualization Gallery.
17 In the new visualization, drag the Author attribute to the Rows box. Drag the
View Month attribute to the Columns box.
18 Add the Shares, Favorites, and Comments metrics to the Metrics box.
19 Click the grid visualization’s (Visualization 2) title bar and drag it below the
first. The result should match the image below:
Add a filter
20 In the first visualization, on the top right corner, click the down arrow, and
select Use as Filter.
21 In the Filter options window, select Visualization 2. Click OK.
You can now control the grid data in Visualization 2 by selecting a month or
months from Visualization 1.
22 Save the dashboard as Article Database Dashboard in the My Dashboards

folder.
Notice how the filter allows users to obtain detailed information much more
quickly.
Analyze the visualization

• Which author had the most views in July?
• In June, which author had the highest number of favorites, shares, and
comments?
• In April, which authors show a decrease in the number of views?
Add a new sheet and create derived metrics
1 At the bottom of the dashboard window, click the + icon to add a new sheet.

2 In the Dataset panel, right-click Comments, point to Calculation and click ÷.
3 In the top drop-down list, leave Comments selected and in the bottom
drop-down list, select Number of Views II. Click OK.
4 A derived metric displays in the Dataset panel. This derived metric is named
(Comments/Number of Views II). Right-click it and select Rename to rename
it as Comment Rate.
5 Repeat the appropriate steps above, with Favorites and Shares. Create
derived metrics by dividing Favorites and Shares by Number of Views II.
Name the new derived metrics Favorite Rate and Share Rate.
Add a bubble chart
1 Click the Bubble Chart icon in the Visualization Gallery.
2 In the Dataset panel, drag the Author attribute to the Vertical box. Drag the
Comment Rate metric to the Horizontal box. Drag the Share Rate metric to
the Color By box.
3 The current color scheme does not allow for a quick analysis. To make the
color scheme more visually representative of the data, right-click the Share
Rate metric in the Color By box, and select Thresholds.
4 Select Red-Orange-Green for a color scheme that offers a higher degree of

contrast. In the Based on drop-down list, select Value and click OK.
5 Drag the Favorite Rate metric to the Size By box.
6 In the Editor panel, click the Format tab.
7 In the top drop-down box, select Data Exploration.
8 In the Max size drop-down list, select Manual.
• In the box, type 1.
9 From the Min size drop-down list, select Adjusted Range.
• Type .5 in the box.
The Format tab in the Editor panel should look like this:
The dashboard should now look like this:

Based on this dashboard, answer the following questions.
• Which author has the lowest comment rate?
• Which authors have the best share rate?
• Which author has the highest favorite rate?
Drill down from author
1 Right-click the circle for Filaro, point to Drill and select Article Topic.
The resulting bubble visualization displays Filaro’s article topics.

Answer the following questions based on this visualization:
• Which topic had the highest comment rate?
• Which topic had the highest share rate?
• Which topic had the lowest share rate?
• Which topic was the least favorite?
4
PUBLISH DASHBOARDS
Once you have created your dashboard you can:
• Annotate the dashboard: Add comments and shapes to save and share
thoughts and observations on the data.
• Save the dashboard as an MSTR file that can be sent to other users.
• View the dashboard as an image or PDF when you export the dashboard.
• Export data for an individual visualization to analyze a specific set of data.
• Further analyze your data using other programs in the MicroStrategy
Enterprise.
Annotate a dashboard
Use the Annotation Mode feature to create a temporary snapshot of your
dashboard and add comments and shapes to highlight specific areas of the
dashboard. You can use annotations to highlight key data points and then save
and share the image file.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Annotate a dashboard 110

4 Publish Dashboards Dashboards and Data Discovery
Click Annotate Mode on the toolbar to access the annotation tools. Once you
have completed annotating the dashboard click Export to save and send the
image file.
Save a dashboard
When you save a dashboard all of the objects, visualizations, filters, etc. are saved
as a.mstr file. You can then share this file with other MicroStrategy Desktop
users. If you are connected to the MicroStrategy Enterprise Platform, users can
open this file in other MicroStrategy programs such as Web.
Export a dashboard
Exporting a dashboard allows you to view the dashboard results outside of
MicroStrategy. You can download, view, print, and share the files with other users
and on other devices. The PDF will display some visualizations in grid format. If
you want to view the visualizations as you see them on the screen, save the
dashboard as an image.
111 Save a dashboard © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Dashboards and Data Discovery Publish Dashboards 4
You can export a dashboard in the following formats:
• Image: Save the dashboard as a PNG file.
• PDF: View the PDF on any device with a PDF reader such as your mobile device
while you’re on the go.
• MSTR file: As mentioned above, you can transfer the dashboard data to other
MicroStratgey users
Export a visualization
You can export the data for a visualization to the following formats:
• Data
• Excel
• PDF
To export data for a specific visualization, right-click the visualization and select
Show Data. In the Show Data window, from the Export Data drop-down list,
select the format you want to export the dashboard to. Below is an image of the
high-level steps mentioned above.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Export a visualization 112

Exercise 4.1: Export the dashboard

In this exercise, we will compare the differences in exporting to PDF vs. exporting
as an image file.
Export to PDF
1 Open the Supplier Dashboard file.
2 From the File menu, point to Export, and select PDF.
3 Save the Supplier Dashboard file in the default location (C:\Users\mstr\

Documents\MicroStrategy\My Dashboards).
4 Navigate to the folder listed above and view the PDF.
113 Exercise 4.1: Export the dashboard © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Dashboards and Data Discovery Publish Dashboards 4
Export to PNG
When you export the dashboard as an image any open panels (dataset objects,
visualization gallery, etc.) will be included. To just export an image of the
dashboard we have to hide the Desktop panels.
1 Click the View menu and clear all the panels.
2 From the File menu, click Export, then Image.
3 Save the image in the default location.
4 Open and view the image.
Further analyze your data

In this course, we started by importing our data to create a dataset that would
serve as the foundation for our dashboard. From this dataset we added
visualizations that served as interactive representations of key data, allowing us to
identify trends and opportunities at a glance. Once the dashboard was created we
learned how to share and analyze our findings.
In addition to Desktop, the MicroStrategy Enterprise has many tools that can help
you take your data analysis to new levels. Use MicroStrategy Report Services to
create detailed analysis of data objects, such as creating filters, prompts, and
custom metrics. Use tools such as MicroStrategy Web to create boardroom quality
documents that can be deployed throughout the company via the Intelligence
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Further analyze your data 114

Server. Create and subscribe to the delivery of visual documents to receive the
latest data. These documents build on the capabilities discussed in Desktop.
Access your data even easier by deploying these reports and documents to your
mobile device so that you can access your data any time, any where.
115 Further analyze your data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

5
WORKSHOP: DASHBOARD
ANALYSIS
Create and analyze the Worldwide Emissions

Analysis dashboard
For this workshop, you will design a dashboard to analyze worldwide,
energy-related carbon dioxide emissions data for the past twenty years. The data
used in the exercise comes from the US Energy Information Administration office
(http.//www.eia.gov). You will apply the concepts you have used
throughout this course to analyze the data.
Add data
1 Open a new dashboard.
2 Click the Add Data icon at the top of the dashboard and select New Data.
4 Click Choose files.
© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Create and analyze the Worldwide Emissions Analysis dashboard 116
5 Workshop: Dashboard Analysis Dashboards and Data Discovery
5 Select Worldwide Emissions 1990-2010 II.xlsx, and click Open. Click

Prepare Data.
Wrangle data
We need to make sure that USA is listed as United States so that the map can
locate the country properly. We can do this by using the Wrangle data feature.
6 Click Wrangle.
7 In order to see all of the data, click Sample Size in the right corner of the data
window and enter 5000. You are indicating that you would like to see the first
5000 rows of data. A message will appear that all data is visible, click OK.
8 Select the Country column and select Text Selector from the function
drop-down.
9 Locate USA in the list and click Edit.
10 Change USA to United States and click Apply to All.
11 Click OK, then click Finish.
117 Create and analyze the Worldwide Emissions Analysis dashboard © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.
Dashboards and Data Discovery Workshop: Dashboard Analysis 5
Create visualizations
1 Using the Grid visualization, place the Country attribute in the Rows area.
Since this dataset does not contain a metric for Total Emissions, create this
metric by adding together the emissions generated by all of the energy
sources available. You will also create a derived metric for Emissions per
Capita, defined as Total Emissions divided by Population (m).
2 In the Dataset panel, right-click the From Coal metric and select Create
Metric.
3 From the Available Objects list in the middle, double-click From Coal to add it
to the Formula pane.
4 In the Formula pane, click + after the metric. Repeat the above step with the
From Natural Gas and From Petroleum metrics, until the following formula
is complete: [From Coal] + [From Natural Gas] + [From Petroleum]. In the

Metric Name box, type Total Emissions as the metric name.
5 Click Save.
6 In the Dataset panel, right-click Total Emissions, point to Calculation and

click ÷.
7 In the top drop-down list, leave Total Emissions selected and in the bottom
drop-down list, select Population (m).
8 Click OK. Rename the derived metric as Emissions per Capita.
9 Save the dashboard as Worldwide Emissions Analysis I.
Now you are ready to create a new visualization.
10 Hover the cursor over the visualization and on the top right corner, click the
arrow icon, point to Change Visualization, and click Map.
11 Drag the Country attribute to the Geo Attribute box.
12 Drag the Total Emissions metric to the Color By box.
13 Drag the Emissions per Capita metric to the Tooltip box,
14 Set the following threshold conditions for the Total Emissions metric:
• For Color, select Red-Orange-Green and click Reversed.
• For Based on, select Highest%.
Use the available options to make sure that green represents the lowest
end of the spectrum, while red represents the highest.
The selection of color in a visualization is an important element of

visualization best practices. In this case, you are creating a visualization to
represent different levels of carbon emissions in various locations. Viewers will
commonly identify the color green as the most favorable emissions rating,
because the color green is readily identifiable with environmentalism and
ecologically sound practices. Likewise, the color red generally signifies the
higher end of the spectrum in comparative analyses. Red is also associated
with environmental hazards. When creating visualizations, consider how the
viewer will relate to the color scheme and the overall appearance of the
visualization. Are there ideas tied to the use of colors and imagery in specific
situations?
15 Click OK.
16 On the Format tab, in the Graphic type drop-down list, select Area.
The dashboard should now look like this:
You may need to zoom and center the map.
Create a second visualization that will indicate yearly emissions data. To maximize
the contrast of items defined in visualization best practices, make the second
visualization a bar chart.
Add a second visualization to the dashboard
1 Insert a Combo Chart from Visualization Gallery.
2 Drag the Year attribute to the Horizontal area.
3 Drag the Emissions per Capita, Population (m), and Total Emissions metrics
to the Vertical area.
4 Drag Metric Names from the Vertical area to the Color By area.
5 Right-click Emissions per Capita in the Vertical area, point to Number

Format, and in the drop-down list, select Fixed.
6 Click OK. Maximize the visualization to see it more clearly.
7 Use the drop-down menu to Restore the original dashboard.
8 Click Save.
Now you will add a third visualization. To maximize the contrast with the first
two visualizations, make the third visualization a Line Chart.
9 For Visualization 3, drag the Year attribute to the Horizontal area.
10 Next, drag the From Coal, From Natural Gas, and From Petroleum metrics to
the Vertical area.
11 Drag Metric Names to the Color By area.
12 Maximize the third visualization. It should look like this:
13 Return to the main view of the dashboard.
You have now created a dashboard with three visualizations.
Rename the visualizations
1 Rename the visualizations by clicking the down arrow at the top of each
visualization:
• Visualization 1 should be renamed Worldwide Emissions Map.
• Visualization 2 should be renamed Yearly Emissions Data.
• Visualization 3 should be renamed Detailed Emissions Data.
2 Save the dashboard. When complete, the dashboard should look like the
image below:
Put the dashboard to the test by answering the following questions using the
visualizations.
1 What is the emissions per capita of Canada?
Since you need a specific emissions statistic, simply click o Canada in the
Worldwide Emissions map for the answer.
Use the other two visualizations to acquire insight relating to long-term

changes and overall trends.
2 What is the overall trend in worldwide emissions?
3 Notice that overall emissions declined in 2009, the only year in the total
number of years surveyed that indicates emissions decreases in all three
emissions sources. Why is that? What broader socio-political context might

explain this single yearly decrease?
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All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with
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is not responsible for errors or omissions. MicroStrategy makes no warranties or commitments
concerning the availability of future products or versions that may be planned or under
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Patent Information
This product is patented. One or more of the following patents may apply to the product sold
herein: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,154,766, 6,173,310, 6,260,050, 6,263,051, 6,269,393, 6,279,033,
6,567,796, 6,587,547, 6,606,596, 6,658,093, 6,658,432, 6,662,195, 6,671,715, 6,691,100,
6,694,316, 6,697,808, 6,704,723, 6,741,980, 6,765,997, 6,768,788, 6,772,137, 6,788,768,
6,798,867, 6,801,910, 6,820,073, 6,829,334, 6,836,537, 6,850,603, 6,859,798, 6,873,693,
6,885,734, 6,940,953, 6,964,012, 6,977,992, 6,996,568, 6,996,569, 7,003,512, 7,010,518,
Dashboards and Data Discovery
7,016,480, 7,020,251, 7,039,165, 7,082,422, 7,113,474, 7,113,993, 7,127,403, 7,174,349,

7,181,417, 7,194,457, 7,197,461, 7,228,303, 7,260,577, 7,266,181, 7,272,212, 7,302,639,
7,324,942, 7,330,847, 7,340,040, 7,356,758, 7,356,840, 7,415,438, 7,428,302, 7,430,562,
7,440,898, 7,486,780, 7,509,671, 7,516,181, 7,559,048, 7,574,376, 7,617,201, 7,725,811,
7,801,967, 7,836,178, 7,861,161, 7,861,253, 7,881,443, 7,925,616, 7,945,584, 7,970,782,
8,005,870, 8,035,382, 8,051,168, 8,051,369, 8,094,788, 8,130,918, 8,296,287, 8,321,411,
8,452,755, 8,521,733, 8,522,192, 8,577,902, 8,606,813, 8,607,138, 8,645,313, 8,761,659,
8,775,807, 8,782,083, 8,812,490, 8,832,588, 8,943,044, 8,943,187. 8,958,537, 8,966,597,
8,983,440, 8,984,274, 8,984,288, 8,995,628, 9,027,099, 9,027,105, 9,037, 577, 9,038,152,
9,076,006, 9,086,837, 9,116,954, 9,124,630, 9,154,303, 9,154,486, 9,160,727, 9,166,986,
9,171,073, 9,172,699, 9,173,101, 9,183, 317, 9,195,814, 9,208,213, 9,208,444, 9,262,481,
9,264,415, 9,264,480, 9,269,358, 9,275,127, 9,292,571, 9,300,646, 9,311,683 9,313,206,
9,330,174, 9,338,157, 9,361,392, 9,378,386, 9,386,416, 9,391,782, 9,397,838, 9,397,980,
9,405,804, 9,413,710, 9,413,794, 9,430,629, 9,432,808, 9,438,597, 9,444,805, 9,450,942,
9,450,958, and 9,454,594. Other patent applications are pending.
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Dashboards and

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. 2

Combo Graph ....................................................................................................43

3 © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Exercise 4.1: Export the dashboard..................................................................113

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. 4

5 © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

MicroStrategy Desktop is a client application which provides instant access to

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. 6

In this course we will focus on:

• Understanding the components of a dataset.

• Importing data into Desktop.

• Using the dataset to create interactive visualizations on a dashboard.

• Analyze visualizations through the use of filters, thresholds, and drilling.

• Exporting and sharing dashboards.

• Import and configure your dataset.

• Use the dataset to create visualizations.

• Enhance particular data trends, or focus on specific data point by applying

• Send the dashboard to relevant users.

Exercise 1.1: Download MicroStrategy Desktop

7 Desktop foundations © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Navigate to the MicroStrategy Website

1 In your Internet browser type: www.microstrategy.com.

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Desktop foundations 8

3 Fill in your information and click Download.

4 Click Windows 64-bit to begin the download.

5 Open the downloaded zip file and double-click

9 Desktop foundations © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

6 On the welcome screen, click Next to begin installation.

9 On the Welcome to MicroStrategy 10 screen, click Create Dashboard.

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Desktop foundations 10

11 On the Getting Started and Quick Tips bar click OK.

You have now successfully downloaded and launched MicroStrategy Desktop.

• Reports and queries in BI tools

11 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Import data 12

13 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Below is an example of a simple report shown as a grid on a dashboard:

Exercise 1.2: Import data

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Import data 14

Download and save external data

1 The Instructor will send you the following files:

• Supplier Report by Region.xlsx

• Worldwide Emissions 1990-2010.xlsx

2 Create a folder on your computer titled: Desktop Exercise Files.

Add new data

2 In the Connect to Your Data window, click File From Disk.

3 Click Choose files.

15 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Import data 16

 Attributes provide context to the business concepts and the metrics

You have now successfully added a dataset to the dashboard.

9 Save the dashboard as Supplier Dashboard in the default folder location: My

17 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Exercise 1.3: Make a grid report

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Import data 18

3 Save the dashboard.

19 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Business concepts: attributes

© 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc. Import data 20

Attributes are comprised of attribute elements. An attribute element is the value

Business measures and KPIs: metrics

21 Import data © 2016 MicroStrategy, Inc.