Is it possible to remove/customize pre-filled dimensions in an ad-hoc report?

In the October release, there was an enhancement (included an image as an attachment) that changed ad-hoc report creation by automatically selecting two dimensions for Columns and Rows selections. Can this be undone, or is it possible to change the dimensions that are being selected? I checked with IMS, and I was told that they didn't think it was possible to change this setting.

Find more posts tagged with

Accepted answers

All comments

Charlie_Geddes

Ad-hoc_self_service.png

Nick Gladkov

Charlie, thanks for the post! First, I would like to share the bigger picture - this change was done as a preparation for a bigger step (in later releases) to define default configuration per cube (so you can define no selections, or what exactly should be in rows/columns or filters).

However, I would love to hear your thoughts - why would you like to cancel that selection or what use cases do you have in mind? Also, maybe others in the community can share more ideas, comments about working with the initial state of ad-hoc reports?

Charlie_Geddes

Nick, thank you for sharing the long-term thought process behind this change. My issue with the current setup is that most of the time users are having to delete both of the pre-filled dimensions when they create an ad-hoc from scratch, so it now takes 2+ more clicks to create an ad-hoc report. Unless users know to delete the pre-filled dimensions, or make element selections in each dimension, a long-running operation is created that can interfere with our automatic data load jobs. I have noticed an uptick in long-running operations recently, and the timing coincides with the change to how ad-hoc reports are created.

Our pre-filled dimensions are Company in Columns and UOM in Rows.

-Company has three-digit numerical values that identify which EPM environment is being used. For example, PRD = 100, DEM = 320, AX2 = 350, so there are very few scenarios where a user or admin would stray from the top element in this dimension. In my opinion, the best set up is to have this dimension default to the top element as an implied selection (meaning users wouldn't select the dimension as a Filter, Column, or Row).

-UOM's default selection is Amount, but users can also select Units, $/Unit Consumed, or $/Unit Sold. There are scenarios where a user might want to see multiple UOM selections, but I think defaulting to the dollar amount as an implied selection generally works for our users.

When I build an ad-hoc report from scratch, I almost always select three dimensions as Filters. Two of the dimensions are used in unison to select actuals vs forecast, and the third is used to select the data source. I also like having the Calendar dimension as my Columns selection, so I can see how pre-filling these dimensions would be a time-saver for me.

Copyright © 2025 Infor. All rights reserved.