At times it is more efficient to run reports when you are away from your desk. To accomplish this you have two options, Batched reporting and Scheduled reporting.
What do you want to do?
The ** batched reports form (** = module name) is accessed from the REPORT GENERATOR main menu. It enables you to amend a report in a batch before you run it.
The batch system records the last date a report was run and does not
run it twice in one day.
It also picks up reports that were missed. For instance, a report set to run on the 15th of each month may get missed if the 15th falls on
a Sunday. In this case, when the reports for the 16th are run, it will include missed reports from the 15th. Reports set to run weekly on a Monday may fall on a holiday weekend if end of day is not run on a Monday. In this case, the reports are run as part of the Tuesday batch. Please remember to allow for this eventuality in your selection
criteria. There is an example of how to do this in the advanced
derived field topic. Tip: Have one or two people responsible for batched reports to avoid excessive numbers of reports within the batch process.
Batched Reports Form
Note: This is not an overnight batch. These selected reports only run on a terminal that is logged into the system.
If you want to change the prompts click the Amend button.
To delete or exclude a report from a batch:
If you want to remove a report from the batch click the Remove button.If you want to exclude a report temporarily click the Exclude button.
If you want to remove a batch from the list altogether, remove all of the reports contained in that batch. When all of the reports have been removed, the batch header record is deleted. Next time you initiate a batch, the group is not included on the list of batches.
Buttons
Amend: Allows you to amend the selected report criteria.
Remove: Displays a Confirm dialog box where you need to either confirm that you wish to remove the report from the batch by clicking the OK button or return to the ** BATCHED REPORTS form without removing the report by clicking the Cancel button.
Include / Exclude: These two buttons allow you to either include or exclude a selected report from the batch.
Run batch: Displays a Run Batch ***** dialog box where you need to either confirm that you wish to run the batch by clicking the Run button or return to the ** BATCHED REPORTS form without running the batch by clicking the Cancel button.
Exit: Returns you to the REPORT GENERATOR main menu.
Help: Displays help on the current application in your default company browser.
Instead of running a report in a batch, you can schedule it as part of the Timed Operations Schedule in System Utilities. This enables you to output a report at specific times of the day, week, month or year.
Tip: On the Timed Operations Schedule > Scheduling Information Form there is a frequency field with a drop down menu to select from. Select the correct spooler and state the time the report should start. If you want to run the report in the early hours of the morning, you need to select tomorrow's date. Try to avoid scheduling a time when the system is running a backup.