Running reports

When reports are run they are outputted using the settings stored against them in Report Design, e.g. CSV format. A report wizard is displayed, allowing values for associated parameters to be defined and (optionally) the output options to be overridden. Once run, they are added to a reporting queue on the server and run in sequence. This means that when a report is run you can continue working without having to wait for the report to finish running. A message is displayed advising that the report is to be run immediately and clicking OK runs the report in the background.

While a report is being run an entry appears in the Scheduled Tasks screen displaying its status (e.g. Idle, Running, etc). The status changes automatically to indicate the progress of the report. Once run, the entry is removed from the Scheduled Tasks screen and the report is stored in the appropriate folder in Document Management, from where it can then be opened and printed.

To run a report:

1. In Report Manager, highlight the report you want to run.

2. Click Run Now or double-click the report. The report wizard opens and displays the associated parameters.

3. (Optional) Modify the report parameters.

• To enter a value for a parameter, highlight it in the left-hand browse, click Include and enter/select the desired value.

4. Click Next.

5. (Optional) Modify the report output options. The report output type defaults to the global setting specified in System Configuration or (for your own reports) the output specified by developers, if they have chosen to override the default when creating new reports. However, you can override the this setting.

• To override the output format:

  1. Under Output Format, select Choose an alternate format.

  2. Select the desired output. The options available are CSV, Excel, Web browser and XML. CSV generates a comma separated file which can be opened in Excel, Excel produces a spreadsheet with a data source for manipulating in Excel, Web browser creates a format which can be viewed in Internet Explorer and XML (Extensible Markup Language) produces a raw file that can be used by any Web-based data viewing and manipulation application, e.g. Crystal Reports.

• To exclude report totals:

  1. Under Output format, untick Include groups/totals. When unticked, groupings are also excluded, which results in just the raw data being output. This option takes its default setting from the selected report's output format as shown below:

  Output	Default
  CSV	Unticked
  Excel	Ticked
  Excel (with associated template)	Unticked
  Web Browser	Ticked
  XML	Unticked

• To override the report destination:

  1. Under Output destination, select Choose an alternate output folder.

  2. Type or lookup the desired destination.

• To overwrite the latest version:

  You can only amend this option if your developer has set the report to overwrite the previous version. See Overwriting previous report versions.

  1. Under Output destination, tick/untick Overwrite latest version.

  • If ticked, then the previous version of the report (with the specified name) will be overwritten in Document Management. However, if a previous report with the same name does not exist, then a new report will be created.

  • If unticked, then the previous version of the report (with the specified name) will be retained and a new version created in Document Management.

• To change the report name:

  1. Under Filename, over type the default name.

• Keyboard shortcuts:

  The following keyboard shortcuts are also available for using the report wizard:

  • Tab. Moves the focus between the controls on the report wizard screen.

  • Enter. When a parameter is selected, it moves to the next parameter. Note: First time into the first page of wizard, the first parameter is selected, but focus is not set on the radio set, therefore you need to press the Tab key to move focus on to the radio set. On the second page of the wizard the Enter key behaves like the Tab key, it moves the cursor between the controls.

  • Ctrl+Enter. On the first page of the wizard, when a parameter is selected, it selects the previous parameter. On the second page of the wizard it moves back to the previous control (like pressing Shift+Tab).

6. Click Finish to run the report. An entry appears in Scheduled Tasks to indicate the progress of the report and the report is run to the specified location. When the report has been produced, the Message icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the status bar indicates that it's ready.

7. Double-click the Message icon. A message is displayed for your report, showing the date and time it was run. Select the report and click Open Item. The report is opened in the appropriate application, e.g. Excel.

• Reports can also be opened from their location in Document Management.

Notes

• Once a report has a status of 'Running' in Scheduled Tasks, the process cannot be cancelled.

• If a parameter is included, but a value is not entered/selected, the Report Wizard automatically treats this as a blank value.

• If a report does not have any associated parameters, the Report Options page of the Report Wizard is automatically shown.

• User reports can also be scheduled to run at pre-determined intervals, e.g. every day at 8:00am.

• The parameters used when running reports (i.e. those selected on the Report Wizard) are shown in the report output so that anyone can see which parameters were set. In addition, the person who submitted the report also appears in the summary. Any filtering done by the report definition itself is not displayed and any parameters which are ignored in the Report Wizard are shown as "Not specified". This feature only applies to Excel and Web Browser formatted reports. When reports are outputted to Excel the summary appears on a separate worksheet. When reports are outputted to Web Browser format the summary appears behind a Filters link. Clicking the Filters link expands/collapses the summary. The summary is collapsed by default to optimise the space available.

• For the following reports the Include groups/totals option is unticked and unavailable:

• MIS reports

• Fixed reports with an attached template (e.g. the Cash Flow report)

• Reports with no field-level group and no summary fields at grand total-level

• System owned reports that have a fixed report output (e.g. the Cash Flow report which only outputs to Excel) are not affected by the firm-wide default. In this instance, the Output options on the Report Wizard are unavailable.