TM1 Network performance problem

[mattgoff]

I agree that Web isn't that useful for most users, but if you're arguing that Perspectives is always better I disagree.

IMHO, Web is very useful to a very narrow class of user, namely the "report-viewer." With a little work on my end (avoiding VBA which we don't use that much anyway, watching for GUI glitches), I can avoid installing Perspectives on their PCs, dealing with explaining TM1 vs. "frozen" (copy/paste values) templates and #NAME? errors, login issues (usually opening TM1 but not actually logging in), the odd Excel/TM1 crash etc. (which brings down every open workbook). For that narrow subset, Web works great and, in my opinion, is better than Perspectives once the external/training issues are considered.

Matt

[Alan Kirk]

I agree that Web isn't that useful for most users, but if you're arguing that Perspectives is always better I disagree.

IMHO, Web is very useful to a very narrow class of user, namely the "report-viewer."

Then I'm afraid we must agree to disagree. That was exactly the class of viewer that we implemented Web for... and I'd still rather give them an Excel / Perspectives solution given my choices. But again, this comes down to a level of personal opinion.

The two advantages that Web has (aside from the "but, but, it's WEB! And Web is The Future, right?" mindset) are the zero footprint, and (relatively) easy deployment via a VPN. (Easy for me, since I wasn't the one who had to do it...) Those were really the only things that got it over the line. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, else is a disadvantage compared to Excel / Perspectives IMHO.

With a little work on my end (avoiding VBA which we don't use that much anyway,

We do... and with the body of standard code that we've built up we can do it quickly as well. That's why they put the R in R.A.D.

And by using this it gives us far more flexibility than we could get with Web even if Web supported (say) easy end user implementation of JavaScript or Flash... which it doesn't.

(And besides, I consider generating VBA code which actually "does something" to be a far more productive use of my time than stuffing around with column widths or trying to arrange action buttons formatted as hyperlinks in such a way that they don't look like a mouth full of snaggleteeth, or saving, adjusting and resaving graphics to make sure that they're kinda-sorta legible... in one brand of browser.)

watching for GUI glitches), I can avoid installing Perspectives on their PCs,

Not an issue if you're using Citrix, since you can determine which add-ins are present in the Citrix session. Granted Citrix itself isn't zero footprint, but this is less of an issue if you're running other apps through it (as we do) as well.

dealing with explaining TM1 vs. "frozen" (copy/paste values) templates

But surely not an issue for the class of users that you describe, since they'll just be getting whatever reports the Admins serve up to them.

and #NAME? errors,

Also not an issue with a Citrix-based application since the add-in will always be there and they won't be opening them in their own Excel sessions.

login issues (usually opening TM1 but not actually logging in),

For my "report viewer" users, I would have worked around that by creating a login "page" in the master ("home page") workbook and driving it through VBA rather than having them go to Server Explorer. You can't get to the "pages" which serve up the reports until you've logged in.

the odd Excel/TM1 crash etc. (which brings down every open workbook).

Sure, but it's not like Web NEVER crashes. It's very robust (once you get it running), I'll give it that (or at least in my experience), but I can't say I've NEVER had a problem.

For that narrow subset, Web works great and, in my opinion, is better than Perspectives once the external/training issues are considered.

Your choice, and I'm not saying it's not a valid one; just one that wouldn't be my preference.

And it's not like Web is completely devoid of training issues. One of the principal examples I can think of is non-Excel workbooks loaded as applications (eg, .pdfs), and the inability to link to them (unless they're hosted on a "real" web server somewhere, which rather defeats the purpose). Consequently I still have to train users that the .pdfs they're looking for are "over here, in this sidebar".

I've yet to come up with a satisfactory answer to the question (which has been asked more than once) "But why can't you put a link to them on my home page?"

(NB: "Because Web is in some (but not all) ways a piece of s[redacted for family friendliness], and this is one example of that" is not an answer that I can give.)

With some of the limitations of Web that I've had to explain (this being one example), there are times when I've felt like I've been starring in an episode of Spin City.

IMHO Applix focussed the development of Web in the wrong direction. Simulating (most of) Cube Viewer's functionality within a Web environment was a pretty applaudable technical achievement and I doff my hat in admiration to the craftiness of the coding involved, but, and this is a big but... it just doesn't work as well as the real thing, and can't because of the environment that it's in. If the focus had been on making Web a reporting tool FOR the "Report Viewers" that thee and me (and probably a bunch of other people) need to deal with (one which just allows you to easily link dynamic TM1 figures into user-designed web pages in an environment which offered the functionality of a "real" web site), they may well have ended up with a very different, but vastly better and more useful, product. I think that this is one of those instances where no-one stopped to think (in relation to the whole Web project) "We CAN do this... but SHOULD we do this?"

[mattgoff]

Alrighty then, agree to disagree. I see your points for the way you use TM1, but it works great for us.

Cheers,
Matt