Metadata Browser v3.01


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Metadata, MicroStrategy, SDK,

As promised earlier this year, Senthil Raj – author of the celebrated Object Tracking Tool, has kindly agreed to merge his application with Metadata Browser.

After much coding and testing, time has come to unveil this brand new application, which you will surely find very useful. Click here to download it.

You can also download the manual here.

So, what’s new?

  • Well, there’s obviously the new and more powerful than ever Object Tracker. You can use it both to extract a simple list of objects in your project, and to generate documentation such as format, alias, formula, dimensionality, transformation and condition for metrics; lookup table, forms, child & parent relationships for attributes, etc. It behaves more or less like the Project Documentation Wizard from Desktop, with the huge difference that you can actually run all sorts of analysis on the Excel files generated by Metadata Browser, and you simply can’t do it with the HTML files generated by Desktop.
  • Another upgrade that you requested is the LDAP and NT authentication modes. They are now available at login.
  • Talking about the connection window, Metadata Browser is now capable of reading the most recent username that you have used for a certain project, from the registry. This will make it easier for you to login.

Enjoy!

Report Data Options in version 9


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MicroStrategy 9,

You know how, after you execute a report, every time you make a change to the Report Data Options the report gets re-executed in order to apply those changes?

Well, in version 9 (not sure about 9.01 yet) this doesn’t happen for the Metric Join Type and Attribute Join Type options. I don’t know if this is a bug or a feature, though the behaviour appears to be intended by the developers. If someone from MicroStrategy is reading this, please provide some background details.

The downside of this is, of course, that if you are debugging a report by modifying one of those options, you might get the idea that your change had no effect whatsoever. This is because you were used with automatic re-execution after you pressed OK, as in the previous versions.

Few more MicroStrategy interview question


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Interview, MicroStrategy

Got this from some folder, written long time ago, but forgot to post. Few questions are not complete.

  1. How do you verify the missing data in MSI Web? How do you verify the missing data in Teradata? Difference??
  2. do you know to create subscription in NCS? How will you create a dynamic subscription?
  3. How did you “deploy reports in Pre-prod for UAT”
  4. How did you upgrade to 811 from 801?
  5. End user want to clear cache?
  6. How will you disable access to a user for a particular project?
  7. What’s the use of Scan MD and MD Doctor?
  8. What are Security roles and security filter?
  9. How will you achieve a Transformation like Last YEAR if this information is not sored in the Warehouse?
  10. New Object created and moved?
  11. How did you tune the report as Administrator?
  12. What’s Heterogeneous mapping?
  13. why do you need to use Joint child relationship?
  14. How to drill to another report?
  15. If a Metric should disregard the filter based on common attribute?
  16. Why do you require hierarchy?
  17. What’s logical table size? How can you chnage it? How does it affect the SQL generation?
  18. A table has million rows and another has 200K, whihc table would be having bigger LTS?
  19. How did you create MEtadata and Statistics table?
  20. 3 different strategies to implment Security?
    DB Instance
    Security Filter
    ACL
  21. Any issue faced in User Merge?
  22. How will restrict prompt element display?
  23. User should be able to selection only one prompt at runtime???

Hacking MicroStrategy freeware license


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MicroStrategy Inc

When MicroStrategy, Inc released free version (though limited number of users), I jumped out of my seat. I thought finally I can start learning Server SDK with free mind. The the joy was only short lived, when I installed MicroStrategy Free Reporting suite, as that MicroStrategy calls, and came to know that lots of addon tools like Command Manager, Enterprise Manager, etc are not included and SDK is not free. But the worst or plain stupid of MicroStrategy Inc was not including Object Manager in the free version. It is kind of cruel, as Organization using MicroStrategy would not be able to maintain different environment like Development, Test and Production, as Object Manager used for migrating objects between environment is not included. But it is kinda stupid of MicroStrategy too, as you need to sell a bare minimum set of component to make that work and ability to move object freely between environments is kinda cruel to client. You should think of letting freeware user to get a neck of it and they should pay (or buy) when they think that it make sense to go beyond named users/features.

Anyways, the following hack is not for getting you the features like SDK. :(, but to how use MicroStrategy Object Manager even with a freeware.

Get a copy of MicroStrategy and two serials keys, one for 30 days trial and one for 25 named user. You can use same downloaded copy to install, the serial key controls which tools would be available during installation. 30 days trial version would stop working, but this so called 30 days is for MicroStrategy Intelligence Server (heart of MicroStrategy product) and 25 named user license would never expire, but is feature limited. Now what you can do it make multiple installation of freeware MicroStrategy as DEV, TEST and PROD environment and the Object Manager installed using 30 days trial can be used for migration of objects among various environments. Kewl ins’t it. Enjoy!!!!

Cracking MicroStrategy Product Activation

I’ve been able to find flow of data exchange in License Manager and looking for someone very good in Assembler to help me finish it. I’m extremely occupied and can’t give anytime, also used Assembler more than 8 years back. I hate coding. So, if you are in Mumbai, India, just run a whois and you would know what email address you need to contact. I just want to help the companies who have MicroStrategy installed on non-windows OS and I-Server machines not exposed to internet. You know it can take half day for novice to just to activate MicroStrategy.

MicroStrategy Mobile BI /w Apple. What a self destruction


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MicroStrategy Inc

Recently three have been a lot of noise about the MicroStrategy, Inc created tools targeted to Apple users (iPod, iPad etc). More than 200 re/twits a day. Mind boggling. During recent MicroStrategy World held at Cannes, France, MicroStrategy, Inc showcased these tools with lot of fanfare. But I highly suspect MicroStrategy gaining market share or big business, just because they have Apple specific application. This is akin to an Automaker betting big one a new car launch that has only extra sun roof in the new model. give me a break dude. How many of you buy a new car just because it has a new swanky sunroof added. None. Only fools will buy that. and Betting big on Apple tools totally amazes me. Take an example of usual application world. We have something called as plug-in to applications or 3rd party tools. Over period of time, some plug-ins become must have for end users. In fact, some time application maker itself become a competitor to plug-in/3rd party tool maker. Apple Tools are not really exciting for sane business people, at least they should not be. It is strange that MicroStrategy is doing very little to publicize the integrated support to Blackberry, which exist for more than 3 years. What a pity.

Something, that’s really extremely good is MicroStrategy, Inc hypnotizing the people who are decision maker for purchase. Unfortunately no Technical person accompany them during these Tech (read, Trade) show. Take an example of my current client, one of Fortune 100 company. The Stake holders are people who seems to have little knowledge about what’s being built using MicroStrategy in their respective team. The presentation shown by MicroStrategy Sales team make everything like piece of cake, dynamic dashboard looks like child play. But unfortunately reality is not so close to that. First of all, minuscule %age of Report Requester and/or End Users really use the premium feature of MicroStrategy. Dynamic dashboard is not easy stuff. This is not really related to Apple Tools, but for the business users of MicroStrategy products.

Now cut back to Apple Tools, which are nothing but a Marketing tool. Hold you breathe, One can not see the flashy dynamic dashboard reports on any Apple appliance as Steve Jobs thinks Adobe Flash, platform on which MicroStrategy Dynamic dashboard run in MicroStrategy Web, are the biggest reason of Apple iPods/iPads crashing and doesn’t have Adobe Flash.

I don’t know if Blackberry was failure, but betting on Apple which has very small penetration among Business users is a stupid idea. You can get the eye ball but sales and I pity anyone buying MicroStrategy for its Mobile Application. This is not an innovative idea like Twitter/Facebook that change the landscape for everyone. FB/Twitter were unique and they created a market for themselves, Saylor saying that Mobile BI would be a game changer for MicroStrategy, is a very bad calculation. You have been industry leader for rest of you in BI landscape, but Mobile BI.. Game changer.. ha ha ha ha…