In this post, I will show the steps for using the OBIEE “Repository Documentation” utility to generate repository (RPD) lineage information.  I will also provide a couple example of how this documentation (output file) can be used.

To access and run the Repository Documentation utility,  from the BI Admin Tool menu, select Tools -> Utilities.

From the Utilities dialog, select “Repository Documentation”, and click “Execute…”

In the “Save As” dialog, select the destination and enter the name you would like for the output file.

When it finishes, it will generate the output csv file.  Note  – this will likely be a large file.  It will contain all your repository objects.

The RPD documentation file will contain the following columns:
Subject Area, Presentation Table, Presentation Column, Description – Presentation Column, Business Model, Derived logical table, Derived logical column, Description – Derived Logical Column, Expression, Logical Table, Logical Column, Description – Logical Column, Logical Table Source, Expression, Initialization Block, Variable, Database, Physical Catalog, Physical Schema, Physical Table, Alias, Physical Column, Description – Physical Column

You can use this file to quickly track lineage from physical sources to the logical columns to the presentation columns and identify all the logic and variables in between.
You can also use it to identify where and how much a specified table, column, variable, etc. is used which will help you to identify dependencies and know the effect of making changes or deleting elements.

Development, Data Governance, and Quality Assurance teams may find this information useful in this format.