F2 Report Writer
Use the REPORT WRITER window to custom design reports. You can take parts or all the information
from one or several data files and combine it together in one custom report.
REPORT WRITER is for advanced users only. It is similar in difficulty to spreadsheet
programming. Technicians are available to help you develop custom reports, but this
is beyond the scope of our regular technical support and will be billed hourly
as a custom modification. Contact Comtronic Systems for details.
Press F2 or the right mouse button to gain access to reports already created.
A pop-up prompt will appear. Select the appropriate report and press ENTER. If you don't want to use an existing
report as a template for your new report, create a new report ID.
Next you will enter the title of the report. In DESCRIPTION, type a title up to 30 characters long and press ENTER.
Click on the FILES button to display a pop-up of the data files in Contract Collector. From the
pop-up, select the information you want to include in your custom report. The
selected files will appear with an arrow to the left. Here you can combine
together information from several different data files. When the desired files are
selected, click on the window outside of the prompt. PresS F1 to get on-line
help. See page 15-8 for a complete list of files.
Use the RELATIONSHIPS function to establish how one file is related to another. For instance, the CONTRACT (CNT) FILE is related to the RECEIVABLES (AR) FILE by the CONTRACT ID (CNT_ID) FIELD — the RECEIVABLES DETAIL (AR_DTL) is related to the RECEIVABLES FILE by the JOURNAL ID (JRN_ID).
Click on the RELATIONSHIPS button to display a pop-up. A relationship formula may read like this: CNT.CNT_ID = AR.CNT_ID. If no relationships have been defined, you will have the option of letting
Contract Collector select them for you. See page 15-9 for a complete list of
file relationships.
When the relationship among files is not defined, each record from each file
is joined to every record from the other file. This can result in large
printouts.
To change a relationship that has already been entered, select it from the
pop-up and press ENTER. Make the necessary changes in the edit area. To delete it,
select it and delete it in the edit area. To add to it, use the add button to
the right.
The print data file is composed of data from one or more files. When the data
is printed, the data from the files are copied, or joined, into a single file
based on these relationships.
When there is more than one record from the data file for a corresponding
single record in another data file, the information from the single record is
repeated for each record it is related to in the other file.
Press F1 to get on-line help with the RELATIONSHIPS process.
The RELATIONSHIPS button has a plus (+) button to the right. This is to add a relationship
between two files. It creates a new relationship and activates the edit area. Press
F1 for on-line help.
Fields
Use the FIELDS column to indicate what parts of a file record you would like to include into
your custom report. For example, for a company report, you might want
information about banking only. From the highlighted FIELD row, press F2 and a pop-up of files will appear. Click on the bank file, and
a second pop-up of bank fields will appear. The order of the fields is how they
will appear on the report. Click on the field you want in your custom report.
Headings
In the headings fields, you can control the name of the heading for each
report item. You can either accept the default heading, such as CMP_ID for COMPANY ID, or type a heading of your choice.
Total
Select the TOTAL check box if you want to total the sum of each numeric field on the report. An X will appear in the box when selected.
Use filters to include or exclude records from your report. For instance, if
you want all contracts from company "001" in the report, define the following filter — CNT.CMP_ID = "001". To include all contracts except those in company "001", define the filter as CNT.CMP_ID <> "001".
Pressing the FILTERS button will provide a pop-up of filters that have already been created.
Select one and the resulting equation appears in the edit area of the window for
completion.
The FILTERS button has a plus (+) button to the right. This is to add a filter. It
creates a new filter and activates the edit area. When the FILTER ADD button (+) has been activated, a pop-up of selected files is displayed.
Select the appropriate file and a second pop-up of fields will appear. Click on the
field you want and a third window of equations will be activated as shown to
the right. Select the appropriate equation to activate the new filter. Press F1 for on-line help.
This button will display your data to be sorted. Press the SORT ORDER button and a pop-up of all selected fields will appear. Select the order you
would like information to be sorted in the report by clicking on the fields in
the order you want them to sort. Each time you click on a field, a number to
the left of the field will be assigned—1, 2, 3 and so on. This is the order the
data will appear on your custom report. As an example, you may want to sort by
company, unit and contract. Press F1 for on-line help.
This activates a pop-up that shows how data will be grouped when a field is
entered that uses the SUM, AVG, COUNT, MIN or MAX functions. These functions combine one or more records or rows from the
source files into one record or row in the report.
Press the DATA GROUPS button to display a pop-up of all the selected fields. Select how the data
should be grouped by clicking on the fields. Each time you click on a field, a
number to the left of the field will be assigned — 1, 2, 3 and so on. This is how
the data in your custom report will be grouped. Press F1 for on-line help.
This creates SUBTOTALS of fields that have been selected for totaling. Click on the SUBTOTALS button and a pop-up of all the selected fields will appear. Click on the
fields you want to show totaled amounts for numeric fields at the bottom of your
report. For example, select CMP_ID after each CMP_ID. Once you select a field, a small double-arrow icon will appear to the left
of the field name indicating it has been selected. Only the fields you select
will be totaled together at the bottom of your report. Use F1 for on-line help.
Editing
The REPORT WRITER window offers several push-button options for editing.
The up and down arrows to the left scroll through the FIELDS one at a time.
The PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN arrows jump from the first to the last fields you have selected.
The bar graph in the middle of the edit keys indicates the position of the
field you have selected in relation to all the fields specified.
The INSERT and DELETE push-buttons allow you to add or delete a field. The INSERT push-button will allow you to insert a field above the one you have
highlighted. The DELETE push-button will remove the field you have highlighted.
After you have defined the data for your custom report, you can press the TEST button and Contract Collector will test the system to see if it can provide
the report you have specified.
Contract Collector will prompt you if your report specifications can not be
fulfilled. A window similar to this may appear.
This window will offer edit suggestions you can make to obtain your report.
Click OK, make the suggested changes and rerun the test. When the data you request for
your report is compatible with your system, a TEST browse window will appear.
Close the TEST browse window and print the report.
Print Report
To print the report, press the PRINT REPORT button in the lower right corner of the REPORT WRITER window. The PRINTER CHOICE WINDOW will appear.
Output:
Choose the monitor or printer radio button shown in OUTPUT. This allows you to view a report on your monitor or send it to a printer.
See the Operating Features chapter for help navigating the on-screen report
viewer and choosing the default printer.