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The term “in-context” means that you can display additional information on a selected item by drilling down to another tab or view. The filter settings you defined (for example, the selected time you chose) and the entity you selected are carried over to the other view or tab, to allow you to continue analyzing your subject from a different perspective. This concept takes on slightly different meanings depending upon where you are attempting to drill down in context from.
For example, when viewing information on a problematic metric in Alerts, you can switch to Precise for SAP to view additional information and continue your investigation.
Alternatively, when viewing information on an instance in the Dashboard tab, you can click on a link in the Instance
Details area (right pane) to view additional information on the related tab, in context to your original selection.
In short, the information displayed when drilling down in context is always related to your original selection’s settings.
How a drilldown affects the Tab heading
The Tab heading displays the name of the currently selected entity on this screen. When you drill down to a new entity in the Association area, the Tab heading changes to reflect the name of the newly selected entity.
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The following settings allow you to control the appearance and behavior of the user interface. They can be configured from the Settings menu on the Precise bar:■ Mapping
- Mapping settings
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- Locale settings
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- Display settings
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- Time Frame settings
Configuring Mapping and Locale settings
Precise for SAP provides performance and utilization information on your SAP system. You can view this data according to your company’s organization structure and locale’s by configuring the relevant Mapping and Locale settings.
For more information, see the Installing SAP Tier Collectors section in the Precise Installation Guide.
Configuring Display settings
In general, when you drill down to an entity, the system automatically opens with a default view or tab selected. You may change to a different view or tab setting to view additional information. If you then switch to a different entity, the system will automatically switch back to the default view and tab selection. If you want to maintain a sticky tab or view selection, meaning that your selected tab or view setting is maintained even if you switch to a different entity, you can set this option in the Settings menu in the Precise bar.
To configure the Display settings1 Choose
- Choose Display Settings from the Settings menu in the Precise bar.
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- In the Display Settings dialog box, select the Maintain the selected tab or view when switching entities option.
Configuring Time Frame settings
You can determine the resolution of the data that is displayed in the overtime graphs using the Time Frame Settings dialog box. By using this dialog box you can define the default time frame to display.
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The following tasks are commonly performed in most tabs:■ Switching
- Switching to a different tab
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- Selecting a time frame
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- Selecting a SAP system to analyze
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- Selecting which clients to analyze
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- About capacity graphs
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- Filtering data
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- Associating entities with data that meets specific criteria
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- Focusing on information in overtime graphs
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- Sending an email message
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- Adding, viewing, and deleting Favorites
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- Determining which table columns to display
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- Copying data to the clipboard
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- Exporting to the Precise Custom Portal
Switching to a different tab
You can easily switch between the different tabs using the Tab Selection bar. When you start your Precise product, the Dashboard tab opens by default. For other Precise products, another tab will open by default. The button of the selected tab is displayed in orange.
To select a tab
1 Click a button on the Tab Selection bar to display information on the selected entity in a different tab.
Selecting a time frame
You can configure Precise for SAP to display transaction performance data for a specific time frame using the predefined time frame options or calendar icons.
Selecting a predefined time frame from the toolbar displays transaction performance data for the selected time period up to the current time.
See “Selecting a predefined time frame from the Precise for SAP toolbar” on page 18.
Selecting the time frame using the calendar icon, you can choose to define a time range independent of the current time, or to define a time range up to the current time.
See “Selecting a time frame using the calendar icon” on page 18. The predefined time frame options are:
■ Last 8 hours (8h) (default)
■ Last 1 day (1d)
■ Last 2 days (2d)
■ Last 2 weeks (2w)
■ Last 5 weeks (5w)
The time frame selected affects all information displayed in Precise for SAP. Only data that falls within the selected time frame is shown in these areas.
Selecting a predefined time frame from the Precise for SAP toolbar
To select a predefined time frame
1 From the Precise for SAP toolbar, select one of the predefined time frames.
Selecting a time frame using the calendar icon
To select a time frame
1 Click the calendar icon. In the dialog box that is displayed perform one of the following:
a To define a time frame independent from the current time, select the ‘Time Range’ option and select the Start and End dates and times.
b To define a time frame up to the current time, select the ‘Last’ option and enter the desired time frame.
c To use one of the three previously used time frames, select the ‘Recently used’ option and from the drop- down menu select the desired time frame.
d To use a previously saved time frame, select Use a previously saved time frame and from the drop-down menu select the desired time frame.
2 To save your settings for future access, select Save these definitions for future use as: and enter a name in the corresponding field.
3 Click OK.
Selecting a SAP system to analyze
You can select the system that you want to analyze in more detail using the System selector.
In most of the tabs (with the exception of the Dashboard tab) it is possible to investigate one system only. The System Selector enables you to choose which system you want to investigate from a list of systems belonging to the selected application. When you choose a different system to study, the information displayed in the tab changes accordingly to display relevant information on the selected system.
Selecting which clients to analyze
The Client selector contains a list of all SAP clients that were configured in the selected system. You can choose to filter out and view information on a specific client’s activities by selecting it from the Client Selector list or choose All Clients to view information on the activities of all SAP clients configured in the selected system.
About capacity graphs
The capacity graph shows how a specific counter (CPU, Load, or Response Time) reacted after an increase in the number of active users or connected users, in the specified system. The capacity graph plots different counters along its x and y axes. A plot on the graph in position (x, y) indicates a sample of these two counters. A best-fit line, representing a linear approximation of the point sampled is also displayed.
Filtering data
You can focus on specific contents of all tabs (except for the Dashboard tab) by showing a subset of the information. This shows the contribution of entities such as programs and users.
You can define flexible selection criteria in the Filter Dialog Box. To open the dialog box, you need to click the Filter Off icon next to the Time Frame selector. Filter On or Filter Off indicates the current state of the filtering mechanism. Filter Off means all information is shown; Filter On means a subset of information is shown.
When you apply your selections in the Filter dialog box, the information displayed in both the Main area and the Association area is modified to reflect your selections. Also, the filtering continues to apply when you drill down to associated entities.
Note: You can enter multiple criteria, in which case each criterion is applied using the logical AND operator.
To filter data
1 Click Filter is Off/Filter is On.
2 In the Filter dialog box, do the following for each entity you want to filter:
From the left drop-down list Select an entity.
From the middle drop-down list Select an operator, such as, Like, <>, Not Like, In, Not In. In the text box Type the criteria (case-sensitive) for the selected entity.
If you select the operator Like or Not Like, you can use the % wildcard character to represent zero or more characters, and the _ wildcard character to represent exactly one
character. If you select the operator In or Not In, type a comma to separate values.
3 Click Ok.
Associating entities with data that meets specific criteria
You can associate the displayed entity with specific data to focus your analysis.
Note: The criteria no longer apply when you drill down to another entity.
To associate entities with data that meets specific criteria
1 Click the arrow located to the left of the Association controls and select More... (applies to Current and Objects tabs only).
2 In the Associate With dialog box, on the Entries tab, select the entity you want to associate data with from the
Populate table with list.
3 In the Sort entries by list, determine according to which criteria you want the information to be sorted and in which order.
4 From the Display top list, select the number of rows to display.
5 On the Criteria tab, do the following for each entity you want to associate data with:
From the left drop-down list Select an entity.
From the middle drop-down list Select an operator, such as, Like, <>, Not Like, In, Not In. In the text box Type the criteria (case-sensitive) for the selected entity.
If you select the operator Like or Not Like, you can use the % wildcard character to represent zero or more characters, and the _ wildcard character to represent exactly one character. If
you select the operator In or Not In, type a comma to separate values.
6 Click OK.
Focusing on information in overtime graphs
Some entities display an overtime graph. The overtime graph displays entity statistics over a specified time period. Depending on the number of points displayed in the graph, you may need to zoom in or out. The text displayed on the x-axis varies according to the time frame. If there is a year or day change, x-axis labels will display accordingly.
To focus on information in overtime graphs, select the desired time frame on the overtime graph, click and drag the left or right handle to increase or decrease the time range. The small zoom (spyglass) icon will display on the upper right of the selected time range, and above the overtime graph legend. Click the zoom icon to zoom in according to the selected time frame.
Sending an email message
You can send an email message to one or more recipients from the Precise toolbar. The default subject for the message will be “Link to a Precise application”.
The email will include a link to the Precise product in the current context (time frame and selected entries). To send an email message
1 Click the email icon on the Precise toolbar. The default email program opens.
2 Fill in the required fields and click Send.
Adding, viewing, and deleting Favorites
The Favorites feature allows you to save a specific location in your application and to retrieve the same location later without having to navigate to it.
About the Favorites feature
The new Favorites feature includes the following options:
■ Relative Time Frame – Saving relative timeframe instead of static date. For example, saving the last 7 days will always display the last 7 days, depending on the day entered.
■ One click to specific location – Once you open Precise by launching a saved Favorite item, you will not have to enter a login credential nor click the login button.
■ IE Favorites support – Adding a new Favorite item in Precise will also add it to the IE Favorites menu.
■ Auto Complete – The Favorites dialog includes a new combo box which supports AutoComplete.
■ Auto Naming – The Favorites dialog generates item names based on the current location.
UI description
A Favorites menu has been added to the Precise bar in each product including StartPoint.
An Add/Delete Favorites option under the Favorites menu allows you to save the current location or delete an existing one.
To add a new Favorite location
1 On the Add/Delete Favorites dialog box, enter the name of the new Favorites entry.
2 Click Add. The dialog box is closed and the new Favorite is added to the list. To view a Favorites location
1 On the Precise bar, click Favorites.
2 Select the Favorites location you want to view. To delete an existing Favorite location
1 On the Add/Delete Favorites dialog box, select the Favorite location to be deleted.
2 Click Delete. The dialog box closes and the selected Favorite is deleted from the list.
Note: The favorite address is displayed in the Address field and cannot be edited.
Determining which table columns to display
Tables are used to display information about the set of related entities in the Main and Association areas. It is possible to determine which columns to display in the Association area tables.
To determine which columns to display in the Association area
1 Click the Table icon on the upper right-hand side of a table and select Column Chooser.
2 In the Table columns dialog box, click the arrows to move the names of the columns that you want to display to the
Visible box and the ones that you do not want to display to the Invisible box.
3 Click OK.
Copying data to the clipboard
At times you may want to save data displayed in the table area in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for further analysis or save an image of a graph to the clipboard.
To copy data displayed in the Association area to the clipboard
1 Click the Table icon on the upper right-hand side of a table and select Copy to clipboard.
The table can be pasted into Microsoft Excel or as an HTML file. To copy a graph to the clipboard
1 Right-click a graph and choose Copy to clipboard.
You can now paste the image into any application that works with the clipboard.
Exporting to the Precise Custom Portal
The Export to the Precise Custom Portal Portlet feature enables you to export the view of the chosen table or graph and generate a portlet with that view in the Precise Custom Portal, so that it will provide you with another way of monitoring your application.
Prerequisites
To be able to use this feature, you need to have the following rights in Precise:
■ View permissions to all Tiers in the application
If you do not have sufficient rights, you will get an error message when trying to execute this feature.
Exporting the information
You can either export a table view or a graph view.
Note: The name field has the following restrictions: maximum 100 characters.
To export a table view
1 Click the Column Chooser icon.
2 Select Export to the Precise Custom Portal Portlet.
3 Insert a name in the name field that clearly describes the table view.
4 Click OK.
To export a graph view
1 Right-click the graph.
2 Select Export to the Precise Custom Portal Portlet.
3 Insert a name in the name field that clearly describes the graph view.
4 Click OK.
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