EP lets you create user-defined rules that alter the appearance and content of portlet elements that generate table-based content (such as a database element or a Web element that is captured as a grid). For example, you can use rules to filter out unwanted records or fields, and to display column header information.
Additional rules allow you to add new records or fields, and alter record and field content. You can take existing content, for example, from a remote Web site or a database, and alter the presentation to a different format.
New grid rules provide more options for altering either
the layout or content of the original source data, without changing
the source. However, if the source is external or provided from
an application that cannot be changed, this functionality may not
work.
Variations on the include rules enable you to include records or fields, but keep them hidden from view. You can use hidden records or fields to define events, and use the content of the hidden records or fields in calculations or in a visible column.
The new grid rules may be useful in situations such as these:
Executive dashboard – create a concise financial report from general data. For example, use a Web page of financial report data that targets a wide audience as the source, create rules that eliminate unnecessary rows and columns, and add “bottom line” information for an executive audience.
Aggregate data – create aggregate data from various raw data sources. For example, use raw data accessible in a database as the source, and create rules that combine and present the data in a form that is more useful to a particular audience.
Graphical presentation – create a chart or Flash presentation of data. For example, use an existing Web report as the source, and create rules that restructure the report for graphical presentation without manipulating the data. The grid rules provide flexibility for extracting data that can be used in the charting layer.
In addition to existing grid rules—Include Records, Exclude Records, Include Fields, Exclude Fields—the following new rules have been added:
Include Hidden Records
Include Hidden Fields
Insert Records
Insert Fields
Edit Records
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