BCA - Getting Started
About
This article and video tutorial (below) cover getting started in BLUEcloud Analytics (BCA). They address logging in, navigating folders, and adjusting setting preferences.
Logging In
To log into BCA, open your preferred internet browser. Supported browsers for all SirsiDynix web-based products include the two latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer.
Go to the BCA login page. You can bookmark this page in your browser for easy access later.
Enter your library’s login credentials and click Login.
MSC system administrators assign one BCA username and password per library. These credentials differ from your WorkFlows logins. If you don’t know your login, please open a help desk ticket.BCA Homepage
Once logged in, click on the BCA MTSC folder. This is the main folder for all MSC libraries.
The homepage displays three folders: Shared Reports, History List and My Subscriptions.
Shared Reports
The Shared Reports folder contains on-demand reports created by MSC administrators. They're organized by function. MSC admins continually create new report templates for this folder to meet the needs of libraries in the consortium. To request a report that isn't available here, please open a help desk ticket.
For an overview of BCA and its report functionality, see BCA - Overview.
History List (Not Recommended)
History List contains finished reports that you've saved to History List specifically. This feature is not recommended or supported as it's not fully functional for prompted reports. Download and save to your computer all report data you need for use on a later date.
My Subscriptions
My Subscriptions contains reports you've saved as a Personal View. These report templates retain only your chosen prompts and formatting, not the report data.
To learn about running reports and saving a personal view, BCA - Single-Prompt Reports and Page-By Axis, BCA - Multi-Prompt Reports and Re-Prompting, and BCA - Saving Reports.
Navigating BCA
There are several ways to move around in BCA.
Left-Hand Menu
Click on Shared Reports. Now open any of the report folders. As you can see, the left-hand menu (A) shows you where you are in relation to other folders and report templates. It also contains a Recents folder, where you can see a history of the last few reports you ran and, usually, recover the most recent one.
You can toggle between a list or icon view at the bottom of the left-hand menu by clicking the symbol with lines – the list view – or the one with squares – the icon view.
Navigation Map
The navigation map (B) acts like a trail of breadcrumbs, telling you where you are in the program. Click on any of the links in the path to return to that location.
M Icon
Clicking the red M icon (C) returns you to the homepage. Hovering over the icon displays a drop-down arrow that, when you click it, allows you to choose a specific page in your history to return to. The ‘M’ stands for Microstrategy, a third-party visualization and data analytics tool, and the platform that BCA is built on.
Arrows
The forward and back arrows (D) act like undo and redo buttons. Use these instead of the forward and back arrows in your browser.
Magnifying Glass
Clicking the magnifying glass (E) to search for reports is only recommended if you already know the name of the report you want to run. This method will search all reports in the MSC. You won’t have permission to view most of the results, as some reports will belong to other libraries, some to MSC admins, and others will be pre-made reports from SirsiDynix that don’t fit into the consortia configuration as delivered, so MSC admins made new versions of those reports that do work. You are most likely able to view anything that has a location of Shared Reports.
Preferences
To access your account settings, click on the drop-down arrow to the right of your login name in the top right-hand corner, next to the magnifying glass (E). Select Preferences.
This is where you can adjust the look of BCA. Unlike WorkFlows, these preferences apply to your library-wide login, not just your workstation, which means you should keep a lot of these settings set to the default.
Two preferences worth adjusting are the time zone and page-by axis settings.
Time Zone
Setting your time zone ensures that the timestamp on any report templates you save in My Subscriptions is correct.
Set your time zone by selecting the General bullet point under Preferences – this section is automatically selected when you first open Preferences. Look for the Language section, then use the Time Zone drop-down to select Mountain Time for the US and Canada.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Apply.
Page-By Axis
Turning on page-by axis will allow you to more effectively sort and refine report data.
To turn on this feature, select the Grid display bullet point, then check the boxes next to Automatic page-by and Show page-by axis by default. Click apply.
To learn about page-by axis reports, BCA - Single-Prompt Reports and Page-By Axis.
Font
It's possible to change fonts in BCA; however, keep in mind that these preferences apply to your library-wide login, not just your workstation.
To change the font, select the General bullet point and look for the Font style section. Don’t remove any of the default fonts that appear in the Selected list. If the font at the top of the Selected list is not your preferred font, select the Custom button, highlight the font you want – you can choose from either list – then use the arrow buttons to move that font to the top of the Selected list.
Adjust the font size as needed, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click Apply.
To revert to the default font or font sizing, select Use Default, then apply your changes.
Email Addresses
You may find it useful to email report results to other staff in your library. You can do this by setting up a list of addresses in Preferences then, after running the report you want to share, selecting the contact from a drop-down.
To learn more about sharing reports, see BCA - Sharing Reports.
To add an email address to the list, select the E-mail Addresses bullet point. Under Address Name, enter the staff person’s name or position title. Under Physical address, enter the email associated with that position.
Click Save.
If you need to edit or remove contact information, click the Edit or Delete button across from the appropriate contact.
Video Tutorial
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