This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

THE DEFINITIVE, COMPREHENSIVE, OFFICIAL GUIDE TO XCELSIUS 2008 DASHBOARDS

Using Xcelsius, you can create powerful, interactive dashboards, gather data from spreadsheets or databases, and deliver knowledge that can be instantly understood and acted upon. Now there’s a definitive, authoritative guide to making the most of Xcelsius 2008, the newest version of this breakthrough product.

Loren Abdulezer, editor-in-chief of Xcelsius Journal, shares insider’s knowledge that goes far beyond any other book or online help resource. Abdulezer introduces Xcelsius 2008, reviews its core concepts, and demonstrates the wide range of dashboards it can create. After you know what’s possible, you’ll go deep inside Xcelsius, gaining hands-on experience with every feature you need to master. You’ll learn how to quickly represent any data with charting components; use dials, gauges, and speedometers; incorporate multiple layers in your dashboards and visualizations; use Xcelsius to perform more useful analyses and manage more interactively; work with maps, demographics, and segmented data; create “smart data” and alerts; and much more.

Abdulezer offers tips and tricks you won’t find anywhere else. You’ll learn how to work with data that isn’t rock-solid--and even how to create your own custom components that go beyond Xcelsius’s built-in features. Whether you’re a business intelligence or database professional, power user, developer, or consultant, this book will help you create superior Xcelsius dashboards--and make better decisions.

THE ONLY XCELSIUS 2008 DASHBOARDING BOOK YOU NEED

• Use Xcelsius 2008 to get better answers, identify emerging trends and opportunities, and manage more effectively

• Learn hands-on, through step-by-step examples using real business data

• Discover tips and tricks proven in real-world environments

• Deliver dashboard content in whatever format works best: as HTML pages, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, or Word documents

• Fully leverage the information in your Excel spreadsheets--and go beyond Excel to use XML source data, too

• Implement Xcelsius best practices drawn from the hard-won knowledge of the entire global user community

ON THE WEB

• Registered owners of the book can find all this and more online:

• All sample files used in the book

• Additional guides and tutorials to help you build dashboards

• Templates and example files for new dashboard interfaces

Introduction 1

Part I Xcelsius 2008 Fundamentals

1 Motivation for Using Xcelsius 2008     11

2 Showcase of Xcelsius 2008 Dashboards     33

3 Getting Familiar with Xcelsius 2008     43

4 Embedded Spreadsheets: The Secret Sauce of Xcelsius 2008     69

5 Using Charts and Graphs to Represent Data     127

6 Single Value Components: Dials, Gauges, Speedometers, and the Like     157

Part II Xcelsius 2008 Best Practices and Techniques

7 Using Multi-Layer Visibility in Your Dashboards and Visualizations     181

8 Managing Interactivity     203

9 Xcelsius and Statistics     229

10 Financial Analysis     257

11 Maps in Xcelsius     275

12 Smart Data and Alerts     297

13 Working with Less-Than-Optimal Data     315

14 Other Dashboard Techniques and Practices     337

Part III Advanced Features

15 XML and Data Connectivity     353

16 Creating Custom Components for Fun and Profit     371

Part IV Appendices

A Supported Spreadsheet Functions in Xcelsius 2008     401

B Xcelsius Product Family Comparison     415

C Xcelsius Best Practice Techniques and Hip Pocket Tips     425

Index     431

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 8 Ratings

Xcelsius Guru Bookshelf Favorite - 2009-03-18
Reviewer Rating:
This book is rated A+ by the Xcelsius Guru Network! Business Objects should consider sending it with each Xcelsius license they sell. With such a limited amount of material available surrounding Xcelsius and the 'Best Practices' required to efficiently use the tool, Loren does a great job to serve every level of developer:

1) Beginners - Finally get to understand how to use the cool correctly from the start!
2) Advanced users - Now have the ability to gain step by step instruction on how to clean up their existing models to enhance performance and leverage the softwware for more advanced applications!
3) Gurus - Get to brush on a few tips, learn from a fellow Guru and finally have a daily reference for Xcelsius!

We think Loren did a great job and this book is currently rated #1 in our Xcelsius Guru Network bookshelf. It's simple a must have for the Xcelsius developer.


The Xcelsius Gurus
http://www.EverythingXcelsius.com
http://www.twitter.com/XcelsiusGurus

Very good tutorial - 2009-06-03
Reviewer Rating:
Abdulezer's book is an excellent tutorial on Xcelsius 2008. I've now worked through the first 8 chapters and have learned much about how to use the application effectively. Be sure to download the useful example files .

Superb, practical information - 2009-10-19
Reviewer Rating:
I've used Xcelsius "lightly" for several years, particularly to build interactive "ValueDialog models" for our business. Several new projects created a need to enhance and extend the use of Xcelsius for interactive, real time analysis. This book lives up to the title claim of Best Practices in many ways. It certainly goes well beyond the User Guide in explaining HOW to apply the components and capabilities. I have not yet tried the download examples, but I anticipate they will take my overall rating to 5.

A Must buy if you are using Xcelsius 2008 - 2009-07-01
Reviewer Rating:
I have looked long and hard for a book like this, great explaination of the topic and downloadable examples.

Its a must have is you are developing dashboards with Xcelsius. If you haven't tried this product you should, you will be a hero with your C Suite!!

Don't buy the Kindle version - 2009-04-08
Reviewer Rating:
Just a quick note to anyone who is considering getting the Kindle version of this book. I got a Kindle 2.0 in early march and purchased the Kindle edition of this book yesterday. Rather than lug around a big 400 page book everywhere with me, the Kindle edition seemed to offer a great convenience. However, I chose to return this purchase after some time trying to read it. I plan on getting the regular print edition, because its an otherwise very up-to-date, detailed book with content that really helps anyone who is not a programmer to build nice looking Dashboards.

I did as much due diligence prior to the purchase as I could - I previewed the book online. If you think that the online preview matches up to what you will see in the Kindle edition, you will be sorely disappointed like I was. Online, the charts and dashboard examples were very readable although my laptop resolution was not set high . However, in the Kindle edition of this book, the illustrations were all washed out and several shades lighter than the actual text. It is nearly impossible to read the text in the images, thus making the book unusable. Considering that there's no contrast or zoom functionality for images on the kindle, there was no other option but to return the book.

Its not as though the Kindle is not capable of displaying illustrations, its resolution and rendering capabilities are pretty good. When you put the Kindle to "sleep" or it goes to standby, the screen displays a several beautifully detailed grayscale images in random order. Perhaps if Amazon had taken greater care when scanning the images and upped the contrast to make the images more readable and clearer, it would have helped.

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