Oracle Discoverer is the established University-wide reporting tool, providing information on a variety of systems across faculties and departments.
Quick Links: Discoverer Access Request Form | Report Specification Document | Discoverer Upgrade - Improvements and Potential Issues
About Discoverer at UEA
Oracle Discoverer is the recognised university-wide reporting technology. It is now used by most university administrative departments to efficiently publish information. The Discoverer system means more staff can have managed access to information which is both current and detailed. A series of pre-defined report templates ensures reports from various university departments will exhibit identical formats and hence comparable data sets. As Discoverer provides access to confidential UEA information users are subject to the UEA's Conditions of Computer Use and acceptance of these conditions is required before becoming a new user. All new users are required to complete a Discoverer Access Request Form adhering to the Conditions. Please print and return the completed document, signed by your manager, in the internal post to 'Mr Mark Barber, Discoverer, ITCS'.
To request a new Discoverer report, a Report Specification Document should be completed and either emailed or posted to Mark. If you have any other queries, please view our FAQ below or contact us directly. Please note that your report request may be discussed at the Management Information Group (see below).
Mr Mark Barber, ext. 3524;
Email: discoverer.reports@uea.ac.uk
Alternatively, for basic enquiries, please contact the Staff IT Helpdesk on ext. 2345 or email: staff.help@uea.ac.uk
Management Information Group
To manage the workload most effectively and to ensure all report requests are dealt with efficiently, a Management Information Group (MIG) has been established. This group meets regularly to discuss report priorities and plan the Discoverer workload. The MIG now spans most faculties and departments, and we encourage outstanding departments and faculties to join to ensure their report requests are fairly represented.
| SITS Representatives | Faculty Representatives | Finance Representatives | Other |
| MAS - Laura Thompson /Helen Roberts/Toby Richmond |
SSF - Caroline Sauverin | SAM/FIN - Rhoda Wolf | HR & Payroll - Stuart Gascoyne |
| SITS - Emma Koro/Alan Stone | EDU - Andrea Blanchflower | RBS - Alan Stone | Estates - Chris Bardell/Nick Syder |
| PO - Garrick Fincham | PGR - Alison Rhodes | ||
| DOS - Linda Shepherd |
Minutes from the most recent MIG meetings
MIG meeting 11-11-09
MIG meeting 03-06-10
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How does Discoverer work?
A: Discoverer runs in your web browser, making it accessible to anyone with web access on campus. As there are no messy software installations, users can be up and running once access has been granted by the Discoverer Reporting Team.
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Q2: Can I export the contents of a report, or is there an easier way to access the information?
A: Yes, export options into a Microsoft Excel document or webpage format, are both available (see the answer further down for a walk-through on how to export to Microsoft Excel).
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Q3: Will Discoverer work with my system?
A: Probably. Discoverer is a universal reporting tool and while designed mainly for Oracle databases, it is possible to import other data sets. Check with the Discoverer Reporting Team.
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Q4: How do I become a new user of Discoverer?
A: Print and complete a Discoverer Access Request Form and return it, via the internal post, to the 'Discoverer Reporting Team, ITCS'. The form asks that you agree to the UEA's Conditions of Computer Use and requires your manager's signature to confirm they are happy with the level of requested access. We'll email you to confirm access; your username and password will be the same as your standard UEA (Active Directory) username and password, but to ensure your password filters through to Discoverer we ask that you synchronise your password on our login pages upon first use.
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Q5: How do I see what standard reports already exist?
A: Follow the link to a list of all our published standard reports: Discoverer Standard Reports
Please note: This report uses Discoverer Viewer, which is a slimmed down version of the main utility Discoverer Plus.
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Q6: How do I request a new report?
A: Complete the Report Specification Document (select to save a copy) and submit it to the Discoverer Reporting Team. Your request will then be put forward at the next Management Information Group meeting which meets on a regular basis to decide workflow for the Discoverer Reporting Team. Most faculties and business areas have a representative (see top) who is responsible for putting forward their requests for standard reports.
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Q7: How do I get started in Discoverer?
A: See our helpsheet: Getting Started in Discoverer Plus. While this is directed at ‘view only’ access users, it does take you through the log in process, the layout of a standard report and some of Discoverer's many options.
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Q8: I have forgotten my password and/or Discoverer says my account is locked. How do I find out what my password is and unlock my account again?
A: Contact the Discoverer Reporting Team or the Staff IT Helpdesk with your problem and leave your contact details. When your account is unlocked, you will be contacted, and provided with your password, if required.
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Q9: In my report I need to enter parameters, I would like to be able to re-enter these parameters to display new data without having to come out and go back into the report?
A: Go to 'Tools' in the menu > 'Refresh Sheet', alternatively use the Refresh sheet icon shortcut, which resembles a orange arrow in a circular movement. You will then be prompted to re-enter new parameters.
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Q10: When I decide to cancel my report query half-way through, why does it take so long for it to cancel?
A: Discoverer acts as a graphical interface between you and the database you are querying and like all database querying tools it uses a programming language to query the database to get results, in this case Oracle SQL. When you click 'Cancel' half-way through running a report it cancels the SQL code running against the database and depending on the codes complexity, this may mean cancelling code searching through literally millions of rows of data. Any cancellation would naturally have a lag time and sometimes it can be quicker to let the code bring back its results as opposed to cancelling the query half-way through. There is no concrete rule to say when cancelling a query will be quicker than letting it finish, but generally the more complex the code, the bigger the database, it's tables or the number of tables and fields you are using, then the better it is to avoid cancelling.
If your query is the result of making a change to the report and you let your query finish running, you can then use 'Edit' and 'Undo' from the text menu to restore your report back to it's previous state, without the need to run the query again when undoing the change.
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Q11: I'd like to be able to select the last report I viewed quickly, without having to browse through all those available?
A: Each time you log in to Discoverer you're presented with the first page of the Workbook Wizard screen, where your options are to either open an existing report or start the process of creating a new one. Most people click 'Browse...' to proceed past this screen and then look through the list of existing reports to open one. However, it's possible to bypass the need to browse through this list each time, by configuring Discoverer to show the last few reports viewed. It's best to alter this setting after you've already opened a report, so proceed to open the report you intended as normal. Once in, go to 'Tools' on the text menu and then click 'Options...'. At the top of the 'General' tab you will see an option to set 'Workbooks in recently used list:'. We recommend you set this to 3 workbooks, so click the up arrow 3 times to set this number. Click 'OK' to save the setting. Next time you log in to Discoverer you should see the last report you worked on in the white box on the Workbook Wizard screen (if you don't see it the first time, open a report, log out of Discoverer and then back in), this will build up to display a maximum of 3 in time.
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Q12: I would like to export the contents of my report to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet?
A: Discoverer offers a fast shortcut icon for Excel export, however this exports to your 'My Documents' folder by default. If you would like to have more control over your export, use the export option on the menu bar instead. Click 'File' > 'Export...', this will bring up the export wizard. Elect to export the entire workbook (all worksheets) or a single worksheet and whether you want the information as a Table or Graph, click 'Next'. Leave the top box as the default option 'Microsoft Excel Workbook (*.xls)' and select the location you wish to export to by using the 'Browse...' option. We recommend exporting to a secure shared drive. Once your destination is selected, change the exports name if desired (do not use the characters \ / : * ? < > | as these are not supported in file names on Microsoft Windows - see Q18 in our FAQ) and then click 'Next'. You will be asked if you wish to supervise the export, leave the option as the default and click 'Finish' to complete the process. You should get confirmation of the export's success.
While exporting to Excel may be handy to offer extra features or to allow manipulation of the data, we advise users to only keep a copy of the export for as long as required and to ensure that the export location is secure in lines with the Data Protection Act. In accordance with the act, reports should not be kept for longer than are necessary for purpose.
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Q13: How do I resize my report to print on one A4 page?
A: In the text menu bar, go to 'File' > 'Page Setup', this will bring up the 'Worksheet' tab. A quick resize fix may be to change your page 'Orientation' from 'Portrait' to 'Landscape', but this depends on whether you are happy printing it this way. Alternatively, click the 'Table' tab, and look at 'Table Scaling'. You can elect to let Discoverer try to resize the report for you by selecting 'Fit to' and leaving the 'Pages Wide' and 'Pages Tall' to 1 each, but this may not give you the desired results. Instead reduce the print font size by adjusting the report to a smaller percentage. 80% is still ok for most; however we suggest going no smaller than 70%, which once reached can be difficult to read. Click the 'Preview' option at the bottom to get an idea of how your print-out will look.
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Q14: I would like to share my amended standard report with other Discoverer users?
A: You can't share a standard report as you are not the report publisher (which is the Discoverer Reporting Team), however you can share an amended standard report where you have used 'Save As...' to save your own copy (although if those you wish to share with should have access to the original standard report, please contact the Discoverer Reporting Team or the Report Owner).
To share a report, go to 'Tools' in the text menu bar and then 'Manage Workbooks...' Single click to highlight the report you wish to share, you should see that one of the options in the top right is 'Share...' (If this is greyed out, you are not the publisher/owner of the report and you will need to contact them to do the sharing - any owner with 'STANDARD' in the name is the Discoverer Reporting Team). Once in share navigate to the user name of the person you wish to share your report with and double click on their name, you should see it is added to the 'Shared:' box on the right. Repeat this until the report is shared with all those desired. Once finished click 'OK' at the bottom to finish and 'Close' to come out of the 'Manage Workbooks...' screen. It is not possible to just share a worksheet, only to share an entire workbook.
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Q15: My vlookup table will not run correctly against my Discoverer report exported to Excel?
A: This problem, reported by the Planning Office, may be down to the macro's that run with the Excel export file to format the data. To export the data with no formatting, export as a Comma Delimited CSV file instead (.csv). CSV files by default will open in Microsoft Excel and your vlookup can then run against the data as per normal.
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Q16: I can't see all of my report to the right, how do I show my report across the whole screen?
A: Sometimes, and this is especially common with large cross tab reports, part of the dataset is hidden to the right of the screen or you need to page across to data which would be visible if the report stretched across the whole screen. It's possible to show a report across the whole screen by going to 'View' in the text menu at the top and unticking the 'Available Items Pane' and 'Selected Items Pane' options.
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Q17: My export to Excel loses it's formatting when I copy the contents to another worksheet?
A: When Discoverer exports to Excel it runs macros to ensure that any formatting in the Discoverer report is replicated in the export. Unfortunately if you copy the contents of your Excel export to another worksheet the macros will no longer exist in the background and any formatting will be lost. Either recreate the formatting manually in the target worksheet, or copy the target worksheet across to the Discoverer Excel export and work from there. As long as you work on an Excel workbook exported from Discoverer the formatting will be maintained; the problem only occurs in Excel workbooks not originating from Discoverer and therefore lacking the background macros.
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Q18: Exporting to any file format won't work, all I get is a blank file partly named after the report with no properties?
A: This relates to an inconsistency with the characters you can use when naming a Discoverer file compared with a Microsoft Windows file, for example an Excel file. Windows won't allow you to use any of the following characters in your file name: \ / : * ? < > | Discoverer in contrast will allow you to use some of these characters when naming your report. When you export your Discoverer report to Excel, it will attempt to recreate an Excel file with exactly the same name as your Discoverer report, if this contains the invalid characters the export will fail and all that will be recreated is a blank file partly named (up to the invalid character) after your report. The fix is to rename your Discoverer report without any of the invalid characters, you will then be able to export without any problems.
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Q19: I'm developing a report and would like to limit the retrieval time or rows when making a change?
A: Discoverer gives you the option to limit the amount of results returned. By default we've turned this option off for all users, but each individual user can turn this option back on through the file menu. Go to 'Tools' > 'Options...', select the 'Query Governor' tab and tick the 'Limit retrieved query data to:' option. Set the total number of rows you would like to retrieve, by default this is set to a 100 rows and this may be sufficient for test purposes. Click 'OK' and refresh your worksheet, it should refresh quicker and you may now get a message stating 'Not all rows have been retieved'. This confirms the row limiting is working. Follow the options and un-tick the box to turn the option off after you have developed your report.
Error Messages and Bugs
Q100: I cannot navigate to the Discoverer login page, I get the standard message 'The Page cannot be displayed'?
A: Some users who have changed their default web browser settings may find they can’t display the Discoverer login page. If you get the standard message 'The Page cannot be displayed' you may have this problem. The standard page actually offers instructions on how to correct this problem (second from last bullet point down), however below are more descriptive instructions (for Internet Explorer only - IE).
Click 'Tools' on the text menu at the top. Scroll down and click 'Internet Options', this will open a new options box. Click the 'Advanced' tab at the top of this options box and scroll down to the bottom of the long list of options (under the sub-header of 'Security'). Make sure there are ticks in the tick boxes next to the three options 'Use SSL 2.0', 'Use SSL 3.0' and 'Use TLS 1.0'. Please leave the rest of your settings as they are. Click 'OK' to apply the settings and exit. Try the Discoverer login page again, this should now display correctly. If you continue to have a problem once you have entered your user details, please look at following questions for possible solutions.
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Q101: I get the error message 'A connection error has occurred. - Failed to connect to database - ORA-01017: invalid username/password; logon denied'?
A: You have either entered your login details incorrectly or have not yet synchronised your password. Click back in Internet Explorer and then click the 'Synchronise Password' option in the top right corner of the login page. Follow the instructions on screen. Once you have synchronised your password, please wait 2 minutes before attempting to log in to Discoverer.
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Q102: I get the error message 'A connection error has occurred. - Failed to connect to database - ORA-28000: the account is locked', what does this mean?'
A: It means that your Oracle account that controls Discoverer is locked; this will only accept 7 failed login attempts before locking your account. This 'lock out' will only affect your Discoverer account. A resynch of your password will clear the lock, so click the 'Synchronise Password' option top right and follow the on screen instructions.
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Q103: After synching my password, I can't log in to Discoverer, I get the error message 'An error occurred while handling the event. See the application log for more details. oracle.discoverer.applications.viewer.events.ApiConnectEvent' - Empty input (or null input) is not allowed'. What does this mean?
A: This is a Discoverer bug. While acceptable as your UEA password for machine log on and other software, Discoverer won't accept the hash ( # ) character in passwords. To access Discoverer you will need to change your password in the university's Identity Management System (IDMS). This is where you synchronised your password and we suggest you follow the link to the IDMS from the 'Synchronise Password' webpage as you did before. Once logged in to the IDMS with your existing password (the one containing a hash), you will see a 'Change Password' option under the 'Resynch Login' option in the left hand menu. Click this and follow the instructions on screen. Please note, it may say the hash character is acceptable on this page, please do not use it, the other acceptable special characters are specified.
Once you have changed your password by clicking 'Submit', please wait 2 minutes before returning to Discoverer and attempting to log in. This time is required for your new password to be pushed through to Discoverer. You do not need to resynch your password. Your new password will work for both Discoverer live and test systems. If you still encounter problems, please contact the Discoverer Reporting Team with full details.
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Q104: I get a blank white screen with a small red cross in the top left hand corner when I try and log in to Discoverer Plus? Further investigation of this problem by turning on the Java console has revealed an error message starting with 'load: class oracle.disco.DiscoApplet not found. java.lang.ClassNotFoundException:oracle.disco.DiscoApplet at sun.applet.AppletClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source) at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)' etc?
A: This is an issue with the Java platform which is used to run Discoverer Plus - you will likely still be able to log in to Discoverer Viewer, if you can't there is probably an additional problem with your user account - contact the Discoverer Reporting Team.
The current version of Discoverer (10.1.2.3) has been tested and certified to run on Java Version 6 Update 7 with Internet Explorer (IE) 6 and 7. If you are on the standard staff desktop (all central units and faculties with the exception of SCI), your version of Java will be fixed to this version and you will be using IE7. If you are not on the standard staff desktop or are unsure, we cannot guarantee your version of Java will be compatible with Discoverer, please contact your IT Support to clarify and ask them to reinstall to the correct version of Java and IE if needed.
If you are on the correct Java version this error could be a sign that you do not have SSL encryption enabled in Java. Please ensure Java can use SSL encryption by navigating to 'Start' > 'Control Panel' (switch to Classic view if needed), and then open the 'Java' option. This will bring up the Java Control Panel. Select the 'Advanced' tab at the top and expand the 'Security' cross-hair. Ensure that the options 'Use SSL 2.0 compatible ClientHello format', 'Use SSL 3.0', and 'Use TLS 1.0' are ticked. Click 'OK' to exit. Open a new web browser window, navigate to the Discoverer login page and try to log in to Discoverer Plus - it should now work.
