Modifying Data in a Table View in a Dashboard Page or Analysis

As a user of a dashboard page, you might have the ability to modify the data that you see in a table view. This ability is often referred to as "write back" and is available if you have the appropriate privileges and if the administrator has configured it. You can update a value in the view that is written back to the record in the data source.

If your user name has the appropriate privileges and if the administrator has configured for the modification of data values, then a write back button (often labeled Update) is displayed on the table view. After clicking the button, you can update or write to the data source. For example, you can enter sales targets for the current quarter in a Sales dashboard. The name that is displayed on the write back button depends on how the content designer prepared the view for write back.

To update records in table views:

Display the dashboard and the view in which you want to modify values.
Click the button that is labeled Update or a similar name that indicates that write back is enabled to switch to Edit mode, in which you can modify values.

If you know that you can modify the values in the view but do not see an Update button or similar button, then the content designer has specified that the view always be in Edit mode. You can begin modifying values immediately and you never see an Update button or similar button.

The updating capability is not available for hierarchical columns.
When you are in Edit mode, you can type a value in the appropriate field. Fields to which you can write back have the appearance of a text box in a dialog.
After you have modified values, click one of the following buttons (or buttons with similar names):
- Apply: By clicking this button, you modify the values in the data source and keep the view in Edit mode with the modified values being displayed.
- Revert: By clicking this button, you restore the data to its original values if you have not yet clicked Apply or Done to save the modifications. Once you have written a modified value back to the data source, you cannot revert to its original value.
- Done: By clicking this button, you modify the values in the data source and return the view to View mode (if the content designer has indicated that the view is not always in Edit mode).
When you click the Apply or Done button, the entire dashboard is refreshed from the data source, because other analyses on the dashboard might depend on that data.

If filters are enabled in the table view and you enter a value in a record that is affected by the filter, then that record might no longer be displayed in the view after the data is refreshed from the data source.

About Handling Errors for Write Back

As you modify data values, you might encounter various errors. For example, you might enter an invalid value in a field and attempt to write it back to the data source, or the administrator might have specified the incorrect write-back template to use. If a problem occurs, then you see a basic error message. To obtain additional information about the problem, an administrator can increase the logging level of the session to create detailed log files. The administrator can search the log files for Presentation Services for a string such as "saw.writeback.action.executeimpl".

If you are writing back multiple values simultaneously and accidentally enter invalid values, then the results depend on the rows that are affected, as described in the following list:

If you are updating multiple values on one row and at least one of the values is invalid, then no values are written to the database.
If you are modifying values in multiple rows and some values are invalid, then some values might not be written back while some write back successfully.