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6.3. Custom Reports Example 2
Here is another example of an actual report you might like to create.
Say you want to create a report containing the following fields. Date, Consigned to, Carrier, Customer Order Number, Our Order Number, Pro# and the Total Pieces and Total Weight.
After you select the Custom Reports option you are displayed the following screen. Select a New Report.
You begin by selecting the Data tab. This is where you would select the data that is to be used in the report. Click on the tab for Data.
You will be displayed a blank screen unless you already created the data specs.
Here you would click on the File menu, then New.
This will display the New Items screen. Click on the Query Wizard then click on OK, to begin the data selection process.
After selecting the Query Wizard, you will be displayed this screen to select the table to be used. Dbl-Click on the BOLH entry which is the Bill of Lading Header file.
This will tell the system to select the Bill of Lading Header file to be used in the report.
Click Next to select All Fields to be used.
Click Next as there are no calculations to make.
Click Next as there are no groupings to make.
If you want to choose a date range to only include as an example from 1/1/20 to current then you will need to define a search criteria. Click on the Define Search Criteria and the screen will open to define it.
Right Click on the opened area to display the popup menu and select Insert Criteria.
Select the field BOLH.HDate, which is the date field in the file. Select the >= operator which means Greater Than or Equal to. And then enter the Date to start from and click OK.
You will now see the criteria that you want the report to select out the records and print. You can click Finish.
This screen is displayed showing the file that you are to use in the report. This should be fine and click on the Design Tab at the top to show the report design screen.
You have different areas that you can perform functions with.
Report Tree - This shows the different sections of the report
Report Bands - This shows the different bands in creating the report layout.
Selection Properties - This shows the available properties for the selected item.
Available Table Fields - These are the available table fields to place on the report.
To start, lets add a Heading to the report. Click on the A on the tool bar to create a Text field and place it on the Header Band. You can enter the actual text by placing the mouse on the field to the left of the Font selection and key in what you want it to read.
You can select a table field such as the Hdate field and place or drag right from the Available Table fields. When you select a field and drag it to the Detail band, it will automatically select the field to be printed along with a header or text field to describe it. You can change the header field or delete it if not needed by selecting it and pressing the delete key. To change it just change the text in the text selection field as shown.
This placed the Date field on the Detail band, and I deleted the first part on this one as I did not want the associated text to be displayed. Only the Date field and moved it on the form to where I wanted it.
Now add the rest of the fields. HConsignedto (Consignee Name), HCarriername (Carrier Name), HCustOrderNo (Customer Order Number), HOurOrderNo (Our Order Number), HPRO (Pro Number), HTotalPcs (Total Pieces) and HTotalWeight (Total Weight). I left the headings on the Total Pieces and Total Weight and changed them to read Total Pieces: and Total Weight, because I wanted to. They are not needed if you choose not to. Adjust and arrange the fields on the Detail band however you wish, and if you need more room, you can drag and expand or shrink the detail band how you see fit. Of course you can also adjust the Font sizes and make more room and resize the field sizes too.
Add the rest of the Header fields to define what is going to be on the report below. These are Text fields and arrange them as needed. I have added a System Variable which is the Date field to also be printed on the Header of the report. You can select the System Variable icon as shown and it will place the Date onto the band.
I also placed a line at the bottom of the Header band so it breaks up the report a little. This is optional and is up to you
Review what you have created so far and when you think you have it, click on the Preview Tab to see what you have so far.
You can click back and forth on the Design and Preview tab until you get it to the point you like it. Then click on the File menu then Save to save your design.
That's it, you just created a report. You can select it from the main screen and print it out, or preview, then print. You can also Dbl-Click on it to make more changes.