June 2007 - Posts
The first thing I noticed about the PerformancePoint Planning console was the 'in your face' look and feel. The menu items are big and clunky, headings oversized and the font is generally big and wiry.
So, I made a point of finding the theme and style sheet files responsible and pulled out my metaphorical scalpel and got to work.
I've not made a huge design impact. In fact, some would probably not notice as I've gone for the subtle-yet-effective cosmetic surgery. However, it makes a difference to me and stops me from rolling my eyes every time I see a 28pt sub title!
For those interested, the .skin and .css files can be found in the following location on a default installation:
c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\2007\AdminConsole\App_Themes\BizAdmin
The two files in question are:
- bizadmin.skin and,
- BizAdmin.css
The updated files for my custom paint job can be downloaded from here
Despite what the name suggests, adding yourself to the Global Administrator Role is not enough to access PerformancePoint server through the PerformancePoint Planning Business Modeler.
If you only belong to the Global Administrator Role and attempt to connect to the server through the Business Modeler you will receive a permissions error:
You need to belong to one of the other Roles (User Administrator, Data Administrator or Modeler) in order to gain access to the server content through the Planning Business Modeler.
I find this a little odd as the Global Administrator Role is required to perform certain actions like deleting an application which is unavailable (grayed out) if, for example, you connect as a member of the modeler role only.
I guess the reason is that users that are only members of the Global Administrator Role can perform the actions through the web-based Administration Console and do not necessarily need access to the business user targeted business modeler application.
..Well, not quite. Microsoft have not actually bought Dundas but they have bought the code base for the charting, gauge, calendar, map and barcode controls. This is excellent news - I've used Dundas charting in various guises for a number of years and have been well impressed with the depth and breadth of the suite.
The plan is to integrate the charting functionality into Reporting Services 2008 (Katmai). Adding this functionality to Reporting Services is going to be great step forward and I can't wait to start developing some presentation ready reports. Should make the sales pitch easier too !
Adrian Downes has put together a great little background article on the reasons and purpose of PerformancePoint Server planning. An overview of the types of plans, budgets and approaches are outlined together with a brief teaser on how PerformancePoint Server can overcome some of the associated challenges.
Even better, it looks like this is the start of a whole new series relating to the Planning aspect of PerformancePoint.