💡 Ever wondered how to track down or configure Session Variables in Oracle Fusion Data Intelligence (FDI)? - SME Part 1

If you are working on customizing your semantic models or refining data security and multi-currency reporting, session variables are the silent engine behind the scenes. But finding where they live and how they are defined isn’t always obvious.

Here is a quick, 3-step walkthrough on how to inspect your Oracle FDI environment's session variables or set up new ones using Semantic Model Extensions and Sandboxes.

🛠️ Step 1: Navigate to Semantic Model Extensions & Open Your Sandbox

First, ensure you are in the correct administrative console. Navigate to the Semantic Model Extensions tab and select User Extensions  from the left-hand menu.

From here, you’ll want to either create a new sandbox or open an existing development sandbox (like Custom Star seen below) by clicking on the action menu to enter the customization environment.

🔄 Step 2: Trigger the 'Manage Variables' Action

Once you are inside your specific Sandbox context (e.g., Sandbox: Custom Star), click on the main action menu button. A Perform Action dialog box will appear, presenting you with three core semantic model modeling operations:

1. Manage Logical Star

2. Manage Subject Areas

3. Manage Variables 🧮

Clicking on Manage Variables opens the gateway to the system's underlying parameter configurations.

🔍 Step 3: Inspect Variable Definitions & Initialization Blocks

Once inside the variable management wizard, you will see a list of session variables available in your system (such as ANALYTICS_CURRENCY_CODE, AR_AGING_CUSTOMER_FACT, etc.).

This is also the place to create new variables. It is to be noted that you must define an initialisation block on first screen and the variables on the next screen.

In the list of out of the box listed variables, If you click the information icon (i) next to any variable, a Variable Information overlay will appear. This is where the magic happens! You can inspect:

• The Default Value: (e.g., 'USD')

• The Initialization Block Details: The underlying SQL query driving the variable. For instance, seeing exactly how the system fetches distinct parameters from the config tables:

SELECT DISTINCT PARAMETER_VALUE FROM DW_CONTENT_PARAM_CONFIG WHERE PARAMETER_CODE='PARAM_GLOBAL_CURRENCY'

🧐 Understanding how initialization blocks populate these variables is key to troubleshooting or tailoring complex configurations to your business needs.

Have you started utilizing Custom Sandboxes for semantic model extensions in Oracle FDI yet? What use cases have you found most impactful for custom session variables? Let’s discuss in the comments! 👇

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