This topic outlines the creation of a Report Definition. it will show you how to set up, edit, copy or delete reports. It will also explain some of the important concepts which are vital in understanding the operation of the Report Generator.
The Report Generator can be used in a simple or a more complex way. It is up to you to gain the required level of training in order to make the best use of the product. Many of the concepts discussed in this topic form the basis of the Report Generator training course.
Note: It is mandatory that a basic understanding of things such as key-paths, derived fields and table linking is gained to maximise the use of this product.
Select the Define report option from the REPORT GENERATOR MAIN MENU and click OK.
A blank form with the options File and Help and with eight icons is displayed.
Select File> New or alternatively click the Create report icon (an icon showing a blank page).
A Report Generator (New report) form is displayed.
Define your report, select File > Save As.
A SAVE REPORT AS form is displayed.
Enter the three letter alpha-numeric code of your new report. If you enter a report ID which does not already exist within the presently selected module then the report will be saved. If, however you enter a report ID that does already exist then a REPORT EXISTS form will be displayed with two buttons on it, Overwrite and Quit.
Warning: Under no circumstances set up reports which start with the letter K. This is because the standard reports written by AUTOLINE start with the letter K and cannot be accessed by normal users. Also, whenever AUTOLINE dispatch new reports, they are liable to overwrite any reports on you system which have the same three-character report ID.
Click Overwrite to overwrite the previously created report or click Quit to return to your Report Generator form.
Note: When creating a new report ID, remember that the code must always contain three characters. These characters may be numbers or letters in the range 0-9, a-z or A-Z. Acceptable codes would be 122, 3DR, PB1, or DDA. Unacceptable codes would be %GE, *1* or 1,1. Although all these latter codes are made up with three characters, they are not ordinary numbers or letters.
(Back to "What do you want to do?")
Select the Define report option from the REPORT GENERATOR MAIN MENU and click OK.
A blank form with the options File and Help and with eight icons is displayed.
Select File > Open or alternatively click the Open report icon.
A REPORT DEFINITIONS form is displayed.
Select the report that is applicable to your requirements and click OK.
The Report selected is displayed.
(Back to "What do you want to do?")
Select the Define report option from the REPORT GENERATOR MAIN MENU and click OK.
A blank form with the options File and Help and eight icons is displayed.
Select File > Open or alternatively click the Open report icon.
A REPORT DEFINITIONS form is displayed.
Select the report that you want to delete and click OK. Select File > Delete.
A DELETE DEFINITION form is displayed with the buttons Delete and Cancel.
Warning: As the Report will be completely removed from the system, make certain that you want it to be deleted. If you delete the report by mistake, its re-creation may involve a great deal of work.
Click Delete.
(Back to "What do you want to do?")
You first need to create reports for your campaign requirements.
To use reports in Campaigns:
On the Title tab select E - Export as the Output type and enter an Export definition.
Tip: Click the ellipsis of the Export definition field to get a list of valid export definitions that are defined in the gb_expor file.
An export definition specifies what is done with data that is exported from Autoline. The Export definition you select should be the same as that defined in the Generic CRM parameters/General Campaign parameters. If you want to select a report within the Campaigns program you will get a list of reports that work with the export definition specified in the Generic CRM parameters program.
On the Format tab you have to specify:
Note: These are important criteria for your report if you want to use them in a campaign.
On the Derived tab check that your report contains the derived field DUMMY with an entry such as 0:CRM Report SetExportFilename (rg_export$, BYREF_rg_ud exfile$). This entry ensures that the export file containing the results of the report is found by the program at run-time.
Go to CRM - Reports & enquiries and start the Campaigns program.
You are ready to run a campaign.
Once a report definition has been created or selected, the following tabs and icon buttons are available.
Title tab: Use this tab to set up the title and basic output parameters of the report.
Tables tab: Use this tab to set up the prime table, and up to eight secondary tables which you can access during execution.
Format tab: Use this tab to set up the report format if the output is either Print, Display or Export. Users will specify how many fields will appear on the report and how they will be formatted. Column headings and field sizes may all be precisely specified and you may decide whether numeric fields will be shown together with totals.
Sequence tab: Use this tab to specify the sort sequence of the output. The report may be sorted using any of the fields in any of the selected tables, including derived fields. You may also specify where breaks and sub-totals will appear on the report, together with any page breaks which may be required.
Derived tab: Use this tab page to establish new derived fields. Derived fields will normally be calculated using existing fields as building blocks. Today's date minus document date, for example, would give the age of a document.
Prompt tab: You may set up prompts which are used at run time. When the report is initiated, you must answer up to ten prompts, which are stored in the prompt fields for use in other sections of the report such as the Selection form, the Derived form or the Sequence form.
Select tab: Use this tab to enter the selection criteria for the report. The selection rules will govern which records are going to be included in the report. Up to ten items of selection can be included and then joined together using a selection logic. You can then specify whether this selection and logic combination will be used to include or exclude records.
Update tab: As this facility allows table updates to take place, this option is normally only available to AUTOLINE support users and will not be covered in this on-line help.
The report is written by using a combination of the above. Each of the options is fully explained in the following topics.
Note: Title, Tables, Format and Sequence are mandatory items and the report will not compile unless they have all been completed.
(Back to "What do you want to do?")
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Create |
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Open |
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Save |
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Last report |
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Wizard |
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Exit |
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Copy |
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Paste |
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Check |
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Test run |
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File: New , Open , Close , Save , Save as , Delete , Properties , Last report , Report Wizard , Exit.
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Copy : |
Report , |
Selected derived fields , |
All derived fields. | |
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Paste : |
Report , |
Selected derived fields , |
All derived fields. |
Tools: Check, Run
Window: Title , Tables , Format , Sequence , Derived , Prompt , Selection , Update.
Help: Context help , Help index.
(Back to "What do you want to do?")
Create Report: Click Create report to create a new report definition.
Open: Click Open report to open a new report.
Save: Click Save report to save the report.
Last report: This opens the report that you last accessed. This report stays as the last report in the module you are in until you log out of the system.
Wizard: ClickReport Wizard to access the Report Wizard.
Exit: Click Exit Report Generator to leave the Report Generator and return to the main Report Generator menu.
Copy: A complete report, selected derived fields, or all derived fields.
Paste: A complete report, selected derived fields, or all derived fields.
Tip: Copy and Paste are useful for modifying or creating new reports. Be careful not to overwrite an existing report if you are creating a new one. Use the save as option on the Menu bar to rename the report that you just copied to save it as a new report.
Check: Click Check report to check the report to see if it will compile without error.
Test run: Click Test run report to test run the report. At this stage you will be able to enter any relevant criteria, or add the report to a batch.
Tip: Before adding a report to a batch you will need to be aware of the Report Group Batch identifier.
Context help: Click Context help to access the on-line help facility.
Properties: Click File on the Menu Bar to access Properties. This option has the following three tabs:
Description Tab: You can type in a description of a report. This tab also enables you to see who created, updated, and last ran the report.
Menu Tab: You can add a report to a specified single menu. Visibility can be restricted by company and/or by the priority level of the user.
Note: For this to work, there needs to be a certain (00GB.runrg) file in place, because this is where these reports are held. Please contact AUTOLINE SUPPORT if this operation does not work.
Version Tab: Tick the Track Changes check box. If set, then every time you save a report, and changes have been made, you will be prompted for a short description of the changes. The message along with the date and User ID are saved in the report definition. You can also format this version number into the report banner.
(Back to "What do you want to do?")
