Initial start-up and configuration of BI Point
Uwaga
This is an example of installation on a local server, using the default ports.
Once the installation part has passed correctly, we can launch our application, via a web browser by typing:
We will then be redirected to the application's ‘promo’ page.
Clicking on ‘login’ will then take you to the programme's login window.
At the type stage, login details are required. Two login options are available in BI Point;
The login method is defined during the programme configuration stage.
Once logged in, the user is automatically taken to the home screen, visible in the left-hand panel as ‘My desktop’.
Permissions
Permissions are accessible from the pane located in the upper right corner of the screen:
The
Permissions tab is divided into several sections:
The Permissions section provides information about the number of available and occupied licenses in the program.
Once the availability of the entered login has been validated, you can enter the remaining information:
Uwaga
If domain login is used to log in to BI Point, Polish characters cannot be used in the user login.
Uwaga
If login/password is used for logging into BI Point, the password must be at least six characters long and contain at least one digit, one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, and one special character. If any of these conditions are not met, a message about the password requirements will appear in the upper right corner.
In the Permissions tab, you can assign users to roles and user groups. The account creation process is complete once you click the Save button.
To edit an existing account, continue to
Users tab and select the
Edit button.
Here, you can modify the roles and groups assigned to the user, as well as change the account access password.
In the second section,
Groups, you can create and manage user groups. This functionality is used in various contexts, including subscriptions, where you can assign users to specific categories.
In the third section,
Roles, you can create, delete and edit roles with user permissions. Predefined roles provided by Comarch include:
The scope of available permissions includes:
Users with access to the connection repository in the BI Point system.
Users with full access to all features and areas of the BI Point application.
User with access to repository resources (connections, data models, reports) in accordance with the permission level assigned to individual objects: no access, read access, limited access, or edit access.
Users with access to the subscription module in BI Point can create and manage their own subscriptions. However, they do not have access to other users' subscriptions.
Users with access to the data model repository in the BI Point system.
Users can only view reports and dashboards; they cannot edit them.
Users can launch and use ChataERP within the application.
The last section is
External users.
Upon selecting the button
, you can add an external user. Data such as email address and personal details are mandatory to add an external user.
Uwaga
BI Point supports transferring roles from the OLAP database to reports and dashboards. For this to work properly, users must be denied administrator privileges on the server with the OLAP database.
In the "
Permissions to Data" tab, you can define permissions to specific measures and dimensions within data models for individual users.
Uwaga
The "Permissions to Data” tab is hidden, by default. Its visibility in the user interface is controlled by the EnableRestrictRolesManagement parameter in the Config.json file. The parameter must be set to "true" to activate it. The config file can be found under: C:\Program Files (x86)\Comarch BI Point\BI Point\instances\nazwa_instancji_bi_point\bipoint.
A new permission is created by selecting a data model (or models) from the list.
Permissions are assigned by selecting the appropriate checkboxes by individual data model elements. Each option is explained in the legend available under the “Learn more” button.
Expanding a dimension opens a new window with a list of all its values. This way you can filter the values and specify which of them should be available or unavailable to the user whose role you are defining.
After selecting multiple dimension values and confirming your selection, the selected elements will be visible in the model element list when you return to the entire model view. A blue, highlighted filter (funnel) icon will appear next to the name of the dimension. This means that even if the checkbox by the dimension name is selected, not all of its values are included in the user's permissions. If this being the case, permissions only apply to values selected and moved to the list below the dimension.
To quickly clear the initially selected filters, use the eraser button.
Using the + button, you can manually enter the name of dimension element, e.g. np. if permissions are created before the model is reloaded.
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When entering a dimension value manually, use its unique name (not a translation of the name).
After reloading the model, this element will already be selected when the dimension values are expanded.
When assigning permissions to hierarchical elements, first select the elements that will be transferred to the tree of measures and dimensions that is visible under the Elements subtab.
Next, you can specify which hierarchy levels the assigned permissions will apply to. Use the eraser icon to indicate if the user should work with a filtered data set (a limited set) or with the full data set, to which new elements may be added automatically in the future. The same permissions also apply to the full data set.
When creating a role, you can add to it more data models to it by selecting the "
Add Model" button.
It is possible to create multiple roles that refer to the same data model. When a user has different access levels to the same element within different roles (e.g., permissions are granted in one role and revoked in another), effective user permissions result from applying the principle of least privilege. In such a case, this means that the user will not have access to the element.
It is also important to correctly assign permissions to hierarchical elements because it significantly impacts the performance of filter loading in the data permissions module.
To optimize the process of modifying or creating permissions for hierarchical dimensions, it is essential to use the function assigned to the eraser button 
.
The example below shows how to grant limited access to data from the period of 2024–2025. Selecting a whole year automatically selects all of its subelements, i.e., all of its days. By filtering this dimension, the engine service will filter all subelements, which may result in a timeout error.
Using the eraser icon clears the subelements and filters only the three parent elements, which works much faster.
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When defining permissions, parameterized models are called using default parameter values.
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In multi-source models, permissions to component models will not transfer to the final multi-source model. Multi-source models no longer allow the use of models with added permissions.
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A model with assigned permissions can no longer be used in multi-source models. To restore this option, the permission must be removed from measures and dimensions, as removing the model from permissions will not will not restore its usability.
Comarch BI Point offers four permission levels that can be defined for each user group or user individually, for both folders and reports. These permissions, ranked by access level, are: None, Preview, Limited, and Edit.
The "None" (No access) permission takes precedence over all others and has the highest priority. This means that if a user has read permission, but their user group has "None" permission set to a given object, the user will not see that object in the report tree.
If a user or their user group has not been assigned direct permissions to an object, the system retrieves the permissions from the nearest parent element in the folder or report hierarchy for which permissions have been defined.
To verify the user's actual permissions for a specific report or folder, use the
“Effective Permissions” tab.
Administrator dashboard
Clicking
drops down the menu from where you can navigate directly to the
Administrator Dashboard.
Uwaga
The Administrator Dashboard is only accessible to users with administrator privileges.
1. "Analytical Engine - Logs" and "Application - Logs"
Both tabs contain complete logs of operations in the application and the analytics engine. By default, logs in the administrator dashboard are listed from most recent to oldest.
2.Connections
In the
"Connections" tab, you can set up the following:
BI Point supports connection definition for
Smtp and Oauth2 authorization (
Microsoft Graph and
Google)
3.FTP connections
In this tab, you can specify a
FTP or
SFTP connection in BI Point:
To add a
FTP connection, click the
symbol in the upper right corner of the screen:
In the opened window, enter your
FTP authentication details.
4.OLAP account
This tab is
only relevant for OLAP connections. In this tab, you can set the authetication method for OLAP account. You can choose to use data entered in the application or a specific domain account.
5.Import from Report Book
In the
BI Point application, you can directly import reports from the
Report Book of its predecessor. You can load exported reported in a dedicated tab. Reports can be exported via the
RbExporter application, which operation and the export process are described in detail in the article
"Reports Exporter".
6.Process list
The process list in
Comarch BI Point displays key information for each line item, such as the
process name,
type, and
current status, as well as the
start and end times (possibly).
You can
filter the list by any of the available fields, making it easy to quickly find the desired line item. You can also
search for a specific process by name.
Here, you can also do the following:
- Recalculate the process
- Edit the process
- Navigate to the process history
Information
The user is able to view all basic programme information.
This information is available by calling up the ‘information’ button on the profile tab.
The user can view information about the programme version, the name of the meta database, the name of the repo database, but also information about the server on which the application is installed.
Help
If you have problems or questions about how the app works, there is a help tab in the top right-hand corner of the app.
It contains the following information:
Search engine
Notifications
Available at the top right of the repository.
It contains information on comments added by other users on the site.
The message shows:
- the date the comment was added
- the user adding the comment
- The object on which the comment was added
To get rid of the new notification marker, simply check ‘
Tag all as read’. Once clicked, the new notification marker will disappear.
BI Point Premium
BI Point Premium refers to the new architecture and BI Point operating mechanism of the analytics engine, which uses columnar databases. The premium version of the analytical engine is only available to users owing the appropriate license.
Uwaga
To properly configure the Premium version of the analytics engine on the Windows Server platform, you need an operating system version 2019 or higher.
The premium version is compatible with the following licenses:
| License Number |
License |
| 10580 |
Optima Business Intelligence - Point - Premium |
| 12670 |
XL Business Intelligence - Point Start - Premium |
| 12680 |
XL Business Intelligence - Point - Premium |
| 14360 |
Business Intelligence - Point - Premium |
You can verify an owned license on the key or in the Comarch BI Point program itself.
- under the "Information" tab
Configuration
To create a premium analytics engine, you need to:
- Run Comarch BI Point configuration tool
- Select "Custom Configuration" in the "Summary" step
- You can create a premium analytics engine in the third step of the custom configuration process.
- The option to create a premium engine is disabled, by default. Users owing the appropriate license can deselect the option "Skip this step" to enable editing the configuration settings. The engine will be created in the last step of the process after selecting "Configure".
If you have alreadt installed the application skipping the engine creation step and want to use the premium analytics engine, you can create it individually in the configuration tool's
edit mode. After going through the edit mode steps and selecting
Custom Configuration, the configuration window shown in the above figure will open.
Creating data model
After creating a premium analytics engine, the option "
Model based on engine and columnar database" will be available when creating a new data model.
Selecting it opens a data model builder. Its structure and functionality are similar to those of the standard data model.
The created model has a dedicated icon in the repository view:
and the detailed type "
Data Model(Columnar)"
:
Multi-source data models
To create a multi-source data model that runs on a columnar engine, you must select the following:
and activate the following:
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Multi-source models based on a columnar engine can only be created using standard data models. Currently, it is not possible to develop a model of this type using a columnar engine.
Prompt to create a data model after adding a connection
If you own a license for the columnar engine, then creating a connection will open a window where you can create a data model based on that connection. Without a premium license, the system will suggest a standard data model. However, users with a premium license can choose between the standard and columnar models.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2023
New application features
In 2023 version, a new software repository was created. The layout and description of the panels can be found in article
"Repository" of the BI Point user manual.
In the Reports tab, it is possible to add links to external sites.
- • Option to switch layouts between new repository and standard repository
New report and dashboard features
- Data models and standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the current model reports and standard BI analyses.
- The way of aggregating advance documents has been improved in the model “1. Sales” for XL BI Point Start. Reports based on the sales model include advance invoices for which a final invoice does not exist.
Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2023
- In 2023 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2023.1
1. New application features
A data copy function has been added for reports and tables. Thus, it is no longer necessary to save data to a report file in order to transfer values from tables.
To properly copy a table, just use the mouse to select an area, and then using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C, copy the data to the clipboard. The selected area is highlighted in a different color to make sure what exactly is being copied.
Example:
After copying, just do the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V or "right mouse button" + "paste"
Instead of using the mouse, you can also select the entire table with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A
In a situation where a specific dimension contains multiple sub-dimensions in the table, for example,
the “Year” dimension contains multiple documents from the “Document Number” dimension,
the Copy function will split the “Year” dimension into each document number from the table (the column with year is not merged):
In a situation where dimensions are presented differently in the table, as in the case below:
• “Year” dimension is expanded
• “Document Number” dimension is expanded for one document only
• “Product Code” dimension is only expanded for one document that is expanded in the “Document Number” dimension
the table will look as follows after pasting the data:
As shown in the above screenshot, when there is no product expanded for other dimensions, the corresponding column is copied from the previous dimension (in this case, these are the red document numbers framed in red).
As far as the format of copied data is concerned, the data is always pasted in numerical format after copying. Example:
Comarch BI Point
• Measure “Sales Value” in “thousands” format
• Measure “Sales Quantity” in “Scientific notation” format
Microsoft Excel
- Refreshing the columns Status, Recalculated, Last loading time, ...
The display format has changed for the selected columns so that it shows the actual status of data model, subscription, report. In order for the current status to be shown, there is no need to refresh the repository as any changes such as recalculating the data model are refreshed in real time.
- Refreshing data model in the repository
For all data models (except for the DirectQuery model), the option to refresh a data model from the repository is now available. This way, there is no need to go through all the steps in the data model in order to refresh it.
- Warning about blocked browser pop-up windows
The "Save to File" option requires that "pop-ups" be unblocked in advance from the browser. In the case of pop ups being blocked by the browser, the cause of error writing to a file is now notified.
The maximum allowed page size has been increased from “500” to “1000”. The default size remains unchanged and it is “15”.
2. New report and dashboard features
- Data models and standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the current model reports and standard BI analyses.
- A new report 1.15 Sales with sugar fee is now available for Comarch BI Point XL Start.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2023.1
- In 2023.1 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2023.2
1. New application features
It is now possible to export tables from the user dashboard into a single xlsx file (each table in the dashboard will be a new sheet in the file).
- New subscription pane in “BI Point 2023 Repository”
In Comarch BI Point 2023.2, there is a new subscription pane customized to the layout of Comarch BI Point 2023 repository. For a detailed description of this pane, please refer to the user manual.
- Creating a subscription in the subscription pane
There is a new option for adding a subscription directly from the left pane “
Subscriptions”.
2. New report and dashboard features
Data models and standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the current model reports and standard BI analyses.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2023.2
In 2023.2 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2023.3
1. New application features
Comarch BI Point 2023.3 provides users with a beta version of a new way of analyzing data, which will replace existing reports in the future. To create your own analysis, simply select from the repository: Create > Analysis.
Analysis provides the following features:
- Edit/preview mode
- Table and chart formatting from the formatting pane on the right
- Data filtering
- Data formatting from the repository on the left
The overall analysis-related documentation can be found in Comarch BI Point user manual.
2. New report and dashboard features
-
Data models and standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the current model reports and standard BI analyses.
-
A new dashboard and reports on Comarch BI Point program administration issues have been added.
Dashboard: “
Model dashboard”
Reports:
“Frequently used models”, “Frequently used connections”, “Last reloaded models”, “Last created models”, “Source models of multi-level models”, “Last opened reports”, “Last modified reports”, “Last created reports”, “Report subscriptions”, “Subscription recipients”, “Last sent subscriptions”, “Last created subscriptions”.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2023.3
-
In 2023.3 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2024
1. New application features
In Comarch BI Point 2024, a new date presentation format Date and Time has been added.
The structure of the Date and Time format is the following:
Year-Month-Day Hours-Minutes-Seconds
-
Sorting – OLAP type (Analysis)
For OLAP-type models, new dimension sort options have been added.
Analysis
Report
Available sort options are:
- Predefined criteria (automatic)
Sort type predefined by Comarch BI Point program. This is a classic sort mode. It works in alphabetical order of the displayed dimension.
Uwaga
All the sort types below are OLAP database settings-dependent! For example, when Customer Abbreviation attribute is sorted by the key defined on the OLAP database, the dimension will be sorted by that attribute’s key, where Customer ID for the Customer Abbreviation is:
view in the
Analysis:
the order of customer IDs in the Knt_Akronim column in the database:
•
OLAP source
Sort type is set in the OLAP source.
•
Value (OLAP)
Sort type by the Value column in OLAP.
•
Text (OLAP)
Sort type by the Text column in OLAP.
•
Key (OLAP)
Sort type by the Key column in OLAP.
•
ID (OLAP)
Sort type by the ID column in OLAP.
2. New report and dashboard features
-
Data models and standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the current model reports and standard BI analyses.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2024
- The postgresql engine has been migrated to the latest version of "PostgreSQL 16”.
- In 2024 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2024.1
1. Writing to a file from the repository
All analysis-related changes can be found in below articles:
Writing to a file from the repository
As of Comarch BI Point 2024.1, it is possible to write to a file from the repository without running the report/analysis/dashboard.
To export an object, select it and then choose
[Save to File].
In the opened window, you can define a
file format.
By selecting
Advanced options, you can customize additional options for the saved object.
Dynamic change of left/right pane width
In Comarch BI Point 2024.1, it is possible to adjust the width of the left/right pane in the repository view:
The main view scales according to the width of the left pane:
the number of columns in the main view:
and whether the right pane is collapsed/expanded:
Subscription parameters
In the new Comarch BI Point repository, it is now possible to use data model parameters in a report/dashboard/analysis subscription.
Description of the parameters can be found in Comarch BI Point 2024.1 user manual under
Subscriptions.
Model error preview in the right pane
In the new repository, it is now possible to verify an error that occurs on an object under the
History tab.
Modification mode – Create new instance/Use existing instance
Users of BI Point 2024.1 installed in a different location than the configuration tool can choose the location of the instance to be modified:
Selecting the option will
create a new instance with the specified name in the default location of the configuration tool.
2. New report and dashboard features
Data models and standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the current model reports and standard BI analyses.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2024.1
In 2024.1 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2024.2
1. New features in the application
BI Point Premium
In Comarch BI Point 2024.2, it is possible to create a new analytics engine. The premium analytics engine requires an additional license. View the "
BI Point Premium" article for details.
Contexts
Contexts are now supported in the new repository. For description, view the "Contexts" article.
Import/Upload File option in new repository
In the new repository view, it is now possible to import/upload objects. For details, see the article "Import/Upload file".
From the user's perspectives
This mode is only available to users with BI Point
administrator privileges. In this mode, it is possible to select a user whose privileges will be used to view the repository with only the items accessible to the selected user. A description and explanation of how it works can be found in the article “
Repository from the user's perspective.”
Disabled old repository version
The default option to switch between the old and new repository views has been disabled in the new version of the application. The new repository view is now the only available option.
License expiration prompt
The prompt informs the user about an expiring/expired license for the Comarch BI Point application.
When the application license only valid for one more month, the following banner appears:
And when the application license only valid for one more week:
The banner appears in all areas of the application and is visible to all users. Users can close the banner, but it will reappear each time they log in.
If the license has expired and has not been renewed on time, the following message is displayed for Comarch BI Point XL/ERP Standard/Optima:
If Comarch CEE BI Point and Comarch BI Point Standalone are installed, it will not be possible to use the application until the license is renewed.
Analysis - selection summary
It is now possible to preview summaries for selected data in the analysis. When you select multiple data fields, summaries of the selected rows appear at the bottom of the pivot table.
The scope of what is visible in the summary can be defined by the user in the
summary configuration:
Selectable options are:
- Numeric value counter
- Maximum
- Minimum
- Median
- Average
- Sum
Analysis - SHIFT selection
In addition to the existing selection methods, cells can now be selected using the keyboard shortcut
SHIFT + cell 1 + cell 2. With this shortcut, you can select the entire range of data between the first and last cells you have selected.
Analysis - prompt when creating a reportu
When attempting to create a report, the application informs that it is possible to create an analysis (a new report version) has been added.
Analysis - charts
Analysis chart options has been expanded to include a new
cascade chart and new features such as advanced data formatting and label element selection. The advanced chart options have also been updated
to provide the chart with all the features available in earlier versions of the interface. For more information, see the article "
Chart".
Dashboard - open in edit/preview mode
Dashboard can now be opened in edit/preview mode.
The dashboard is opened in preview mode, by default. Previously, in order to make any changes to the development objects, it was necessary to first reload and display the data in preview mode. Only then was it possible to switch to edit mode.
By opening the dashboard in edit mode, it is no longer necessary to reload it, which significantly streamlines the modification of development objects.
After opening the dashboard in edit mode, the following message appears on each development object:
Once you have finished making changes and switched to preview mode, all changes are displayed in the preview.
Subscription - subscription email
The message delivered via subscription has been refreshed.
Section:
varies depending on how frequently the subscription is sent: once, daily, weekly, or monthly.
ChatERP
The
ChatERP system can now be integrated with Comarch BI Point software, so it can be used directly within the application.
To activate
ChatERP, click on this icon:
Becasue
ChatERP is based on the Comarch BI Point system's documentation, it quickly and easily searches for necessary information. It integrates directly with the documentation's data to provide effective responses to user prompts.
For objects of
Analysis type, anayses can be created using an integrated
ChatERP functionality. Users can formulate appropriate prompts to tailor an analysis to their individual needs:
In response to the above prompt, the ChatERP will return an analysis generation confirmation:
and will display the suggested values, rows, columns, and filters to be included in the analysis:
Selecting "Apply" will copy the values suggested by ChatERP to the analysis table.
For descriptions on how ChatERP works in individual views, see the corresponding articles:
- Operations in the repository view – ChatERP
- Operacje in the analysis view – ChatERP
RS/File report - new repository
In Comarch BI Point 2024.2, the file/RS report creation wizard has been updated to align with the new standard user interface of the Comarch BI Point repository. For instructions on how to create each of these reports and how they work, see the articles: “
RS report” and “
File report.”
Save to File - information
When saving an analysis, report, or dashboard to a file,
the name and description of the saved object are now additionally presented.
2. New report and dashboard features
The standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been replaced with a new data analysis method called “Analysis.” They have also been updated to the latest version to align with their corresponding versions in BI Analyses.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2024.2
In 2024.2 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including the password policy.
New features in Comarch BI Point 2024.2.1
1. New application features
Additional connection parameters
An option to manage the connection pool to the database has been added for
MSSQL,
Postgres, and
Oracle connections. Using this option, you can set a limit on the number of connections to the database that can be
maintained and reused instead of creating them separately each time.
- Minimum number of connections in the pool
specifies the minimum number of connections that are maintaind in the pool, even if they are not currently in use.
- Maximum number of connections in the pool
specifies the maximum number of connections that can be open in the pool at one time.
Dashboard - Maps
The map on dashboards now includes new options to set the
minimum and
maximum zoom level:
By setting a limit, it will not be possible to zoom in and out of the map beyond the specified ranges.
By setting the
minimum value = 5,
maximum value = 7:
the map can only be zoomed out to a maximum of 5 units and zoomed in to a maximum of 7 units:
Similar to the functionality available for the Site and Area layer types, the
Point layer type now has the option to select, display labels, and filter.
Personalized links
The article "Personalized Links — Repository" includes instructions on how to create external links from the main menu of the Comarch BI Point repository.
FAQ - Documentation
The Comarch BI Point documentation home page now includes a new FAQ tab containing answers to frequently asked questions and descriptions of common issues.
Permissions - ChatERP
A new role:
ChatERP has been added under the tab
Permissions > Roles. Assigning this role to a user grants access to the
ChatERP functionality within the Comarch BI Point application.
2. New report and dashboard features
The standard reports in Comarch BI Point have been updated to the latest version to align with their corresponding versions in BI Analyses.
3. Fixes in Comarch BI Point 2024.2.1
In 2024.2.1 release, further modifications have been introduced to increase the application security standards, including the password policy.
4. Telephone support
Comarch BI Point Technical Support Phone
2. Other
When selecting a folder on the Reports section, the available search types are:
whereas when selecting a directory from the Other section these will be:
for connections:
