How to Build OneStream Books for Excel and PDF

OneStream Books reporting package for Excel and PDF

OneStream books are an excellent way to deliver reporting packages to your users. You can create a book to deliver reports directly into Excel or via PDF. You can create a book containing one entity with
several different reports or a book containing one report which repeats using several different entities. Bottom line, there is a lot of flexibility with books to meet your users’ requirements!

In this blog we will discuss the basics of creating a book, including organizing books into Folders, and demonstrate how to create a book with one entity for several different reports. My next blog will
show how to create a book with one report repeating for several different entities.

To create a book, select Application > Books:

OneStream Books step 1: report book setup screen
 
Next, select Open Book and determine in which folder your new book best belongs; you should choose Public if you want others to be able to run the book; if it is for your own use, you can store it under
your private or a User’s folder:
OneStream Books step 2: report book setup screen
In our example, there is no appropriate folder in which we wish to store our new book so we will create a new folder. To create a new folder, click on the new folder icon:
OneStream Books step 3: report book setup screen
In the pop-up window, create the folder name, add a description and click OK:
OneStream Books step 4: report book setup screen
Your new folder will immediately display in the list of Public folders (you can do the same if you create a folder under your personal folder):
OneStream Books step 5: report book setup screen
Next, click the New Book icon to start creating your book:
OneStream Books step 6: report book setup screen
It may look like you need to add a Required Input Parameter(s); however, this is often left blank, and the Determine Parameters From Content is set to True. This means that the parameters will come from
the cube views used in the book rather than defining them in this section. For very large books you may experience improved performance by using this option. We will not use it in our example, but remember to list all your required parameter names here if you choose to use it.
OneStream Books step 7: report book setup screen
There are several Items you can add to your book. To begin this process, click the Add Items icon. In this example, I am adding a cube view to export to Excel to do this, select Add Excel Export Item:
OneStream Books step 8: report book setup screen
    After adding an Item, there are three sections we need to define:
  • 1. Name – this is not the exact name of the cube view; it is the name of the extracted report; this can be any name you wish
  • 2. Cube View Report – this is the full name of the Cube View report; a dropdown is available to assist you in locating the exact name of the cube view
  • 3. Output Name – this is the tab name. A parameter used in the cube view can be passed to the tab name as seen below:
OneStream Books step 9: report book setup screen
    After adding an Item, there are three sections we need to define:
  • 1. Name – this is not the exact name of the cube view; it is the name of the extracted report; this can be any name you wish
  • 2. Cube View Report – this is the full name of the Cube View report; a dropdown is available to assist you in locating the exact name of the cube view
  • 3. Output Name – this is the tab name. A parameter used in the cube view can be passed to the tab name as seen below:
OneStream Books step 10: report book setup screen

When considering what to name your book, you should make it as descriptive as possible. The book name will automatically include the extension .xfDoc.xxxBook where xxx contains the type of output you
wish to export. In this case, we are saving our book so the output will be in Excel (the first choice below):

  • 1. Excel Book – use the extension: xlBook Example: Monthly Close – Entity.xfDoc.xlBook
  • 2. PDFBook – use the extension: pdfBook Example: Monthly Close – Entity.xfDoc.pdfBook
  • 3. Zip File Book – use the extension: zipBook (this output will be reviewed in the next blog) Example: Monthly Close – Entity.xfDoc.zipBook

After the book is saved, you may want to provide a description for your users and set the security group(s): To add a description to your book, select the book you wish to update, followed by the Edit
icon:

OneStream Books step 11: report book setup screen

You may wish to make the book accessible to all users; however, you may wish to restrict who can edit (update) the book. The Access Group and Maintenance Group are two different options:

OneStream Books step 12: report book setup screen

When you finish editing the book information, click OK. This will save updates made:

OneStream Books step 13: report book setup screen

You will see the updated Description and Maintenance Group:

OneStream Books step 14: report book setup screen

Before adding additional reports to our book, let’s test it to ensure it works as expected. To execute the book, locate it in your Public folder, click on it once to highlight it, and click on Select
File:

OneStream Books step 15: report book setup screen

You will be asked to confirm your selection:

OneStream Books step 16: report book setup screen

After you click OK, all parameters used in the cube views will appear in the pop-up window. In our example, we have one parameter (Entity). In this example, we will select the entity Houston:

OneStream Books step 17: report book setup screen

The output will export and open up in Excel:

OneStream Books step 18: report book setup screen

Now that we know our book is working, we will add three additional cube views to our book. By doing this, our book will produce four different reports for the same Entity:

OneStream Books step 19: report book setup screen

When we save and run the book again, you will see the four reports as four separate tabs in the same file:

OneStream Books step 20: report book setup screen

This concludes our first Book blog; be on the lookout for the next blog, which will demonstrate how to create a book that produces the same report for multiple entities!

Troubleshoot hint:

When you execute your book and multiple pop-up windows appear, check your cube views to ensure all cube views use the same prompts. For example, you may have several cube views in the book using your workflow entity as the prompt, but other cube view(s) are using a general entity prompt instead. In this case, you will see two entity prompts:

OneStream Books step 21: report book setup screen

OneStream Books step 22: report book setup screen

If this is your intent, there is no need to change although you may wish to update one of your parameters to clarify the parameter (for example, Select Workflow Entity). Otherwise, you will need to review your cube views to determine which cube views should be updated, so in the end, you have only one entity prompt.

OneStream Books Resources

OneStream Books combine trusted reports into a repeatable package. OneStream Books can deliver Excel, PDF, or ZIP output for different audiences. Well-designed OneStream Books use consistent prompts, descriptive names, and appropriate security. Test OneStream Books before distribution, especially when multiple cube views share parameters. Document ownership so OneStream Books remain easy to maintain. Review access regularly as OneStream Books evolve.

For more guidance, explore OneStream Books Part 2, what OneStream is, OneStream financial reporting, OneStream implementation, managed services for OneStream. Also review the official OneStream report books documentation.