.You create a package to make metadata available to your
users. A package is a subset of a project. It must contain all the
information that a specific user or group of users needs to create reports.
You can also apply security to the package .
For example, if your data source contains information from different areas of a business, you might decide to create different packages for Human Resources and Finance. Ensure that your package meets a broad but related reporting need. Each report can contain information from a single package only.
After a package is published to the server, it is available to your users.
You can reuse packages by creating nested packages. When you create nested packages, you create a master package that is based on other existing packages. Using nested packages saves you time, and they are easier to maintain. Another advantage of using nested packages is that you publish only the master package.
For example, you create three separate packages named Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Each package contains the project objects and security appropriate for that package. You can create one master North America package and include the packages Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
You can also reuse packages to create a consolidated package with connections to multiple data sources.
When you create a package, you can choose whether objects in a project can be selected based on the requirements of your users.
Option | Description |
Select | The object can be used in reports and can be selected by your users. |
Hide | The data within the object cannot be used in reports because it cannot be selected by your users. Any existing reports referencing this object will not run. For example,
you include a model query subject in a package. Because model query
subjects are dependent on data source query subjects |
Unselect | The object is not published. It cannot be used for reports and cannot be selected by your users. |
If a model query subject references other query subjects in a macro or a prompt, ensure that you include the referenced query subjects in the package. This can occur in the following situations:
A macro for the model query subject references query items in another query subject.
Another query subject is referenced in the Prompt Info properties.
Click the Packages folder, and from the Actions menu, click Create, Package.
In the Provide Name page, type the name for the package and, if you want, a description and screen tip. Click Next.
Specify whether you are including objects from existing packages or from the project and then specify which objects you want to include.
If you created other packages, we suggest that you add package references by clicking Using existing packages.
Choose whether to use the default access permissions for the package:
To accept the default access permissions, click Finish.
To set the access permissions, click Next.
Specify who has access to the package, and click Next.
You can add users, groups, or roles .
Move the language to be included in the package to the Selected Languages box, and click Next.
Move the sets of data source functions you want available in the package to the Selected function sets box.
If the function set for your data source vendor is not available, make sure that it was added to the project. For more information, see Select Function Sets.
Click Finish and choose whether to
publish the package .
Click the package you want to modify and, from the Actions menu, click Edit Definition.
Click the objects you want to add to or remove from the package.
Tip: To toggle through the options for an object, click
the object icon, or select an option from the list. For more information,
see .
Click OK.
If you want to add or remove package references to the package you are modifying, click Edit.
