SyncFirst Standard. Quick Start Guide User Guide Step-By-Step Guide

Transcription

1 SyncFirst Standard Quick Start Guide Step-By-Step Guide

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3 How to Use This Manual This manual contains the complete documentation set for the SyncFirst system. The SyncFirst documentation set consists of 3 separate guides as described below: The SyncFirst Quick Start Guide contains a general discussion of the program. It begins with a brief introduction and also includes an overview of the system s major features. The SyncFirst describes the steps to take in order to install the system and contains a more detailed description of each feature. It offers instruction on the use of each of the program s functions and explains the distinctive roles of the Report window, the Table window, and the Analysis window. The SyncFirst Step-By-Step Guide provides a detailed description of how to perform each critical function. It uses the program s sample projects to demonstrate a number of scenarios that a user might encounter. COPYRIGHT NOTICE COPYRIGHT 2013 DATA SYNERGY CORPORATION All Rights Reserved This publication is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved by Data Synergy Corporation. It may not be reproduced, in whole or part, by any means without prior consent, in writing, from Data Synergy Corporation.

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5 C O N T E N T S Quick Start Guide Introduction... 9 General Concepts Welcome to SyncFirst Installing and Configuring Installing SyncFirst Choosing System Preferences Using SyncFirst The Report Window Managing Projects Using Bookmarks Using Templates The Table Window... 57

6 Exporting Data Filtering the Table Modifying the Table Design Creating Quick Charts The Analysis Window Defining the Summary Exporting a Summary Creating Summary Charts Function Reference Step-By-Step Guide Introduction to the Step-By-Step Guide Using System Functions Using the Report Window Using the Table Window Using the Analysis Window

7 SyncFirst Standard Quick Start Guide Version 1 Copyright 2013 Data Synergy Corporation

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9 Chapter 1. Introduction Description SyncFirst works with data from text files, PDF files, XML files, print spool files and ASCII data to produce structured tables for analysis, conversion to popular file formats and output to databases. An organization's reports can often store massive amounts of important data. However, this information is typically structured in ways that only allow the data to be interpreted according to the original intent. For example, a report that shows total sales for each Part Number cannot be easily interpreted to reveal total sales by Customer Number. SyncFirst makes this possible. In the simplest terms, SyncFirst allows you to use unstructured input data and output it as structured data. SyncFirst s project system allows you to view reports, choose the information that's relevant and present it in a format that matches your specific requirements. Information from invoices, client records, monthly reports, payroll records and more can be extracted and output in minutes. You can create projects that capture the specific data from a given report. A project contains information specifying the report and the fields that will contain data extracted from the report. It also specifies how the data will be extracted. Once extracted, data can be reviewed and analyzed or exported for use by other applications. Projects can be reopened and reused or modified at any time. This means that a single project can be designed to be used to process data for many identically formatted reports. It is also possible to design several projects that process data for a single report. For example, one project may extract data relevant to Human Resources data and another project might extract data relevant to Accounts Receivable. License Agreement This software is subject to the license agreement that accompanies this program. Warranty Information DATA SYNERGY CORPORATION SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, Quick Start Guide 9 P a g e

10 Quick Start Guide INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.IN NO EVENT SHALL DATA SYNERGY CORPORATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE EVEN IF DATA SYNERGY CORPORATION HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. THE PERSON USING THIS SOFTWARE ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO ITS QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE. Any use of this software product for any period of time indicates your acceptance of this agreement and subjects you to its contents. Support In addition to this Quick Start Guide, you can get help with SyncFirst through its built-in help system or by referring to the Step-By-Step Guide. The Step-By-Step Guide provides a detailed description of how to perform each of SyncFirst s major functions. Users who have registered a supported product within the last 30 days are eligible for one-time free installation and configuration support. If you require this service, you will need to contact us via the online form at or by telephone and indicate how you would like for us to respond (by telephone or ). Note that support provided under this service is limited to installation and configuration issues. Users who require additional technical support are directed to Data Synergy Consulting. Data Synergy Corporation provides comprehensive data mining and migration services based upon proficiency with SyncFirst, third-party tools, and custom software solutions. Data Synergy consultants specialize in creating effective solutions to difficult or unique problems for a variety of organizations. Contact us for more information about how we can help you with your project. 10 P a g e SyncFirst

11 Chapter 2: General Concepts Chapter 2. General Concepts Navigating the System SyncFirst is designed to allow easy access to all of the program's features. As you use the program, you will find that the screen consists of two separate areas. At the top of the screen is the menu bar. The menu bar enables you to open menu boxes where you can access the various program functions. Just below the menu bar is the toolbar. The buttons on the toolbar can be used to activate many of the program's functions. This is often easier than using the menu bar. The remainder of the screen is the program window area. Most interaction with the program will occur in this area. Extensive context-sensitive help is available. When you are uncertain what to do, you can usually press the F1 key to view information about the currently active function. You can also usually select the "Help" option from the menu bar, the toolbar, or from the active window. The various buttons on the toolbar are enabled and disabled as you move between the Report window, Table window, and Analysis window. When using the Report window, you will also see several additional buttons in the program window area. The buttons used within each window are described below. System-wide Toolbar Buttons: Create a new project Open a project View help Quick Start Guide 11 P a g e

12 Quick Start Guide Report Window Toolbar Buttons: Add a new bookmark Remove a bookmark Find (go to) a bookmark Print the report Search a report Other Report Window Buttons: Open the currently selected group level Remove the selected group level Add a new group level Add a new header summary group level Save the current group level Save the current group level and end editing Cancel edits to the current group level Reorder the group levels Automatically define selection criteria for the current group level Automatically create fields for the current group level Copies the current report line to the Group Selection box Read another 1,000 lines from the report Clear the Group Selection box Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as alphabetic 12 P a g e SyncFirst

13 Chapter 2: General Concepts Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as numeric Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as blank Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as non-blank Add a new field to the current group level Edit the currently selected field Delete the currently selected field Table Window Toolbar Buttons: Export data from the Table window Filter the Table window Modify the table Print the table Create a Quick Bar Chart Create a Quick Line Chart Analysis Window Toolbar Buttons: Create a new summary Print the Analysis window Export data from the Analysis window Create a Summary Bar Chart Create a Summary Line Chart Quick Start Guide 13 P a g e

14 Quick Start Guide Create a new Hi-Lo Chart Create a new Candle Chart Create a new Hi-Lo-Open-Close Chart Using the Report Window and Project System SyncFirst is based on a flexible project system. Projects contain detailed information about a report and its fields and group levels. Any project can be repeatedly reused to extract data from standard reports. The first step when creating a new project is to select the report that contains the data that you are interested in. Report data will usually come from simple text files, but may also be extracted from PDF files. A project includes only a single report, but you can choose a new report for a given project at any time. Reports often contain multiple group levels, sorted by one or more values at each group level. At the lowest level are the detail lines, which typically are the most numerous. For example, a list of employees might be grouped by department at the highest level, then by division, and finally by office number. 14 P a g e SyncFirst

15 Chapter 2: General Concepts When working within SyncFirst, you begin by telling the system how to recognize the detail lines and what fields should be extracted from them. This is repeated for each higher group level. In the example above, this would mean that you would first select an employee detail line from the report and identify a pattern that uniquely identifies those lines. You would then tell the system how to recognize the data that you want to extract (such as employee name, age, salary, etc.) and define it as a field. In many cases, both of these steps can be performed automatically. You then repeat this process for the office group level, the division group level, and the department group level. Some reports place useful information in the header section of each page, outside of the regular group levels contained in the body of the report. SyncFirst handles situations like this by allowing you to add a special type of group to a project. Header Summary group levels can be used to create an additional level of grouping that uses only fields from page headers. Fields from the page header then appear in each row when the Table window is displayed. As you define each group level and add fields, the Report window displays a tree-like view of the group levels and fields for the project. This allows you to update field definitions from any group level as the need arises. Detailed instructions concerning the project system and defining group levels and fields can be found in the Step-By-Step Guide. Using the Table Window Quick Start Guide 15 P a g e

16 Quick Start Guide After you define the fields that contain the data that will be extracted from the report and the necessary field selection criteria, you can open the Table window. The Table window displays records in a tabular format, with one row for each record extracted from your report. Functions that you can perform from the Table window include: - Export Data to a File or ODBC Data Source - Print the Table Window - Create a Quick Bar Chart - Create a Quick Line Chart Each of these functions is described in detail in the Step-By-Step Guide. Using the Analysis Window The Analysis window allows you to summarize data based on any combination of key fields that you select. For example, you might want to see a breakdown of salaries for each department within an organization. SyncFirst makes it possible to view the total of all salaries, average salary, minimum salary or maximum salary for each department. You could also capture the count of employees for each department or drill down and see the numbers for each division within each department. Functions that you can perform from the Analysis window include: - Print the Summary Window 16 P a g e SyncFirst

17 Chapter 2: General Concepts - Export Summary or Detail Data - Create a Summary Bar Chart - Create a Summary Line Chart - Create a Summary Candle Chart - Create a Summary Hi-Lo Chart - Create a Summary Hi-Lo-Open-Close Chart Templates After you have created a project for the first time, including specifying the report, creating all of the necessary sort levels and adding each field, the process becomes routine. The process of creating each new project will be much faster. However, whenever possible, the ideal should be to select a report and immediately begin to create tables and generate output data skipping the details of creating a project. For example, a single project may require that you define 5 sort levels and 20 fields. If you have to create several similar projects, you would have to recreate each sort level and each field when creating each new project. This process could be greatly expedited if you could simply create the sort level and field definitions once and then apply them to each new project. Templates allow you to do this. Templates contain all of the information for the project except for the specific report that was used and can be used as a framework when creating additional projects in the future. Exporting Data You can export the table (or a summary) to a number of popular file formats. This allows you to distribute information in spreadsheets, word processors or other applications. SyncFirst also includes support for exporting data to Access, Oracle and SQL Server ODBC data sources. You can export all data from the Table window or use the Analysis window to export data in summary form. Stored Exports SyncFirst also includes functionality that allows you to automatically export data from your reports, without programming or the need to reopen the report or project. If you expect that you will want to extract data from another similar report in the future (perhaps a monthly or other recurring report), you just check a box and specify a name that you will use when performing that function in the future. Quick Start Guide 17 P a g e

18 Quick Start Guide Charting Data You can use your reports to generate sophisticated and informative charts. Various types of data are often more well-suited for certain chart types, so SyncFirst includes several standard chart types. Bar charts are perhaps the simplest and most easily interpreted type of chart. These charts display totals for several groups of data. This type of chart is often used to show data totaled by time period, such as a monthly sales chart. Stacked bar charts can show several different subgroups within each group (such as sales by each department for each month). Line charts show the totals for each group as points of data connected by a line. This type of chart is often more useful in analyzing larger numbers of groups and in trend analysis. Bar and Line charts are general-purpose charts that can be used in a variety of applications, but SyncFirst also supports additional chart types that are most useful in specific applications. High-Low charts are most typically used in financial applications to show the high and low price for a given stock, but can also be used in any situation where you want to review the upper and lower values for a particular field. High-Low-Open-Close charts and Candle charts are similar to High-Low charts but show four values that represent the high, low, opening (or beginning) and closing (or ending) values for the indicated field. Since all charts are created from existing report data, they can quickly be generated with only a few mouse clicks. All charts are also automatically copied to the Windows clipboard so that they can easily be used in other applications. Some properties of each chart, such as scaling and data ranges, are determined automatically by SyncFirst. Fonts for all charts are set in the Options dialog. You specify the remaining settings for charts as you create them. 18 P a g e SyncFirst

19 Chapter 2: General Concepts Detailed instructions on how to use the system s charting capabilities can be found in the Step- By-Step Guide. Quick Start Guide 19 P a g e

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21 Chapter 1: Introduction SyncFirst Standard Version 1 Copyright 2013 Data Synergy Corporation

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23 Chapter 1. Welcome to SyncFirst SyncFirst is the core of our data mining system. SyncFirst works with data from text files, PDF files, print spool files and ASCII data to produce structured tables for analysis, conversion to popular file formats and output to databases. An organization's reports can often store massive amounts of important data. However, this information is typically structured in ways that only allow the data to be interpreted according to the original intent. For example, a report that shows total sales for each Part Number cannot be easily interpreted to reveal total sales by Customer Number. SyncFirst makes this possible. SyncFirst's project system allows you to view reports, choose the information that's relevant and present it in a format that matches your specific requirements. Information from invoices, client records, monthly reports, payroll records and more can be extracted and output in minutes. In the simplest terms, SyncFirst allows you to use unstructured input data and output it as structured data. Project Templates and Automatic Data Extraction You can create projects that capture the specific data from a given report. A project contains information specifying the report and the fields that will contain data extracted from the report. It also specifies how the data will be extracted. Once extracted, data can be reviewed and analyzed or exported for use by other applications. Projects can be reopened and reused or modified at any time. This means that a single project can be designed to be used to process data for many identically formatted reports. It is also possible to design several projects that process data for a single report. For example, one project may extract Human Resources data and another project might extract Accounts Receivable data. The specifications for a project can also be saved as a template. A template contains all of the information for the project except for the specific report that was used and can be used as a framework when creating additional projects in the future. A separate feature allows you to use the logic defined in a project to automatically extract data from a report. The SyncFirst project system makes it possible for all of this to be done with no programming or specialized technical skills. 23 P a g e

24 SyncFirst Standard and SyncFirst IQ This guide describes the features and functions of SyncFirst Standard. SyncFirst Standard is a stand-alone application that enables a single user to access an unlimited number of projects and data sources. SyncFirst IQ allows you to grant any user with access to your network full access to a shared project system, allowing multiple users to create and modify projects, export data and automatically generate any of the system's reports, tables, charts and graphs. Changes made by one user are immediately made available to all users, minimizing duplication of effort. Data exported by each user can also be shared with other users. Chapter Contents The following is a short description of each chapter in this guide. Chapter 1: Welcome to SyncFirst This chapter provides an overview of SyncFirst, this User s Guide, and how to get additional help. Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring This chapter describes the minimum system requirements for SyncFirst and gives a detailed description of how to install the program onto your computer. Chapter 3: Using SyncFirst SyncFirst includes numerous features that make it easy to view and manipulate data and automate tasks. This chapter gives a general description of the project system and some other important features of this version of SyncFirst. Chapter 4: The Report Window This chapter begins with an explanation of how to create and use projects. It includes a detailed discussion of group levels and fields. It then briefly describes how to print a project s source file. Next, it explains how to search a project s source file with bookmarks and the Search function. Finally, the chapter presents a discussion of templates and how to use them in your projects. Chapter 5: The Table Window This chapter describes the functions performed within the Table window, including exporting data, filtering and sorting tables, printing a table, and creating Quick Charts. 24 P a g e SyncFirst

25 Chapter 1: Welcome Chapter 6: The Analysis Window This chapter begins with an explanation of how to use the Analysis window to create summaries. It then explains how to export summary data and create each of the summary charts. There is also a brief description of the Print Summary function. Chapter 7: Function Reference This chapter provides a description of each function available to be used when creating calculated fields in the Table window. Getting Help In addition to this User s Guide, you can get help with SyncFirst through its built-in help system or by using the included Step-By-Step Guide. The Step-By-Step Guide provides a detailed description of how to perform each of SyncFirst s major functions. If you are already familiar with the general concept underlying SyncFirst and would like to receive a basic primer on the program s essential features, you can review the included Quick Start Guide. The Quick Start Guide contains much of the most general information found in this guide, but does not include a detailed description of each function. Users who have registered a supported product within the last 30 days are eligible for one-time free installation and configuration support. If you require this service, you will need to contact us via the online form at or by telephone and indicate how you would like for us to respond (by telephone or ). Note that support provided under this service is limited to installation and configuration issues. Users who require additional technical support are directed to Data Synergy Consulting. Data Synergy Corporation provides comprehensive data mining and migration services based upon proficiency with SyncFirst, third-party tools, and custom software solutions. Data Synergy Corporation consultants specialize in creating effective solutions to difficult or unique problems for a variety of organizations. Contact us for more information about how we can help you with your project. This User s Guide uses specific typefaces to distinguish among menu commands, field names, window titles and other objects as described in the table below: Convention Applies to Example Italic Window Names, field labels Table window, Chart Title Bold Menu options, button labels File menu, New Project button Initial Caps Specific portions of a window The selected report then appears in the Report Display area 25 P a g e

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27 Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring Installing SyncFirst Below are the minimum requirements for SyncFirst: Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or faster processor Memory: 2 GB Ram (4 GB recommended) Operating Systems: o Windows XP (32-bit) Home/Pro with Service Pack 3 or higher o Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) Home Basic/Home Premium/Business/Ultimate o Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) o Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit) Monitor: o screen resolution ( recommended) Hard Disk Space: o 40 MB for SyncFirst (plus up to 1.5 GB for Microsoft.NET 4 if not already installed) To begin the installation, insert the SyncFirst installation disk into your computer s CD or DVD drive. The installation wizard will normally start automatically. If the wizard does not start, you will need to execute the setup.exe file in the root of the installation disk to begin the installation. Note: Depending on the configuration of your operating system, you may be prompted at various points during the installation and asked whether you want to continue. If this occurs, click Yes and the installation will continue normally. SyncFirst requires that the Microsoft.NET Framework 4.0 be properly configured before it can be installed. The installation will first check to see that the necessary components exist on your system. If not, it will begin by prompting you to install the missing item(s). Click the Install button and follow any instructions in the following dialogs to install the required component(s). Depending on the speed of your system, it may take several minutes to complete this process. 27 P a g e

28 The final step in the installation process is to install SyncFirst itself. When prompted, simply click the Next button and complete the remaining dialogs to complete the installation. The installation program will create a folder called "SyncFirst" in the "Program Files" folder. This folder will contain several other folders, which are automatically configured as the default system folders for use with the Step-By-Step Guide. After completing the installation, it is recommended that you relocate the system folders as described below. 28 P a g e SyncFirst

29 Choosing System Preferences Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring When initially installed, SyncFirst will choose the default fonts, colors, and folder locations that will be used when generating charts and exporting data. To change these settings, simply make a selection from the Options menu and the Options dialog will display the tab that contains those settings. Choosing System Fonts The Labels & Fonts tab contains settings for the fonts that are used in charts and files that are exported by the system. Each font option is described below: Export Text: This is the font that will be used when exporting data to PDF, HTML, and RTF files. Chart Titles: This is the font that is used in Chart titles. Chart X Labels: This is the font that is used in the X axis of all charts. Chart Y Labels: This is the font that is used in the Y axis of all charts. Chart Value Labels: This is the font that is used to show totals on charts. 29 P a g e

30 Chart Legend Text: This is the font that is used when displaying legends within a chart. Automatically Resize Labels: When this box is checked, the system will automatically resize text elements in each chart to best fit the available space. Otherwise, each text element will be rendered according to the size specified in this dialog. To change the font for a particular element, double-click on that item in the list box. The system will then display a font dialog that allows you to specify the font that will be used for that element. Choosing System Colors The Formatting & Colors tab contains settings that are used when displaying forms and reports. You can also change certain settings that will be used when displaying numbers and exporting text. Each option is described below: Alternate Colors in Reports: Select this option if you want the system to display reports in green-bar fashion (i.e., every second line is displayed on a shaded background). Alternating Color for Reports: Click this box to change the color that is used when displaying green-bar reports. Alternate Colors in Tables: Select this option if you want the system to display the Table window in green-bar fashion. 30 P a g e SyncFirst

31 Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring Alternating Color for Tables: Click this box to change the color that is used when the greenbar option is selected for the Table window. Alternate Colors in Analysis: Select this option if you want the system to display the Analysis window in green-bar fashion. Alternating Color for Analysis: Click this box to change the color that is used when the greenbar option is selected for the Analysis window. Fix Decimal Places: Select this option if you want the system to display and export numeric fields rounded to a fixed number of decimal places. Decimal Places: This field specifies the number of decimal places that the system will use when rounding numeric fields. This setting is used only when the Fix Decimal Places option is selected. Analysis Summary Bar Color: This is the background color that is used when displaying summary line items in the Analysis window. Text Delimiter: This is the delimiter that is used to separate fields when exporting CSV files. 31 P a g e

32 Choosing System Folders The Default Folders tab specifies the locations that are used by default when selecting reports and exporting files. Each folder is described below: Report Folder: This is the folder that the file dialog will open when searching for reports. PDF Export Folder: This is the folder where exported PDF files will be saved, unless directed elsewhere. Charts that are saved in PDF format are also saved in this folder. CSV Export Folder: This is the folder where exported CSV files will be saved. Excel Export Folder: This is the folder where exported Microsoft Excel files will be saved. RTF Export Folder: This is the folder where exported rich text format files will be saved. HTML Export Folder: This is the folder where exported HTML files will be saved. To change the location of a folder, click the button next to its text box to open the folder location dialog and navigate to the desired folder. Then click the OK button to return to the Options dialog. 32 P a g e SyncFirst

33 Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring Note that the folders specified here are only the default folders for reports and exported files. When adding reports to projects and exporting files, you will be given the option to select an alternative folder location. 33 P a g e

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35 Chapter 3. Using SyncFirst The Project System SyncFirst is based on a powerful and flexible project system. Projects contain detailed information about a report and its fields and group levels. Any project can be repeatedly reused to extract data from standard reports. The first step when creating a new project is to select the report that contains the data that you are interested in. Report data will usually come from simple text files, but may also be extracted from PDF files. A project includes only a single report, but you can choose a new report for a given project at any time. As you define each group level and add fields, the Report window displays a tree-like view of the group levels and fields for the project. This allows you to update field definitions from any group level as the need arises. Templates After you have created a project for the first time, including specifying the report, creating all of the necessary group levels and adding each field, the process becomes routine. The process of creating each new project will be much faster. However, whenever possible, the ideal should be to select a report and immediately begin to create tables and generate output data skipping the details of creating a project. For example, a single project may require that you define 5 group levels and 20 fields. If you have to create several similar projects, you would have to recreate each group level and each field when creating each new project. This process could be greatly expedited if you could simply create the group level and field definitions once and then apply them to each new project. Templates allow you to do this. Templates contain a record of field specifications and group levels that can be used to build projects automatically. Exporting Data You can export the table (or a summary) to a number of popular file formats. This allows you to distribute information in spreadsheets, word processors or other applications. SyncFirst also includes support for exporting data to MS Access, Oracle and SQL Server ODBC data sources. 35 P a g e

36 You can export all data from the Table window or use the Analysis window to export data in summary form. SyncFirst also includes functionality that allows you to automatically export data from your reports, without programming or the need to reopen the report or project. If you expect that you will want to extract data from another similar report in the future (perhaps a monthly or other recurring report), you just check a box and specify a name that you will use when performing that function in the future. Stored Exports You can use stored exports to automatically export data to any of the file formats or ODBC data sources supported by SyncFirst. You can also automatically export Quick Charts to PDF files. To use stored exports, you must first create them by opening a project and executing a Quick hart or Export function from the Table window. After creating stored exports, you can execute them by selecting the Stored Exports menu item from the File menu. This displays the Stored Exports dialog. To execute a stored export: Select a stored export from the list Click the Execute button SyncFirst uses information from the original project to create the output file that you indicated when creating the stored export. 36 P a g e SyncFirst

37 Chapter 3: Using SyncFirst Note that this function creates a file with the name that you specified when performing the original export and will automatically overwrite previous versions of this file. Also note that if you remove a project that was used to create a stored export, the stored export is not automatically deleted. To remove a stored export, you must return to this function, select the stored export from the list and click the Remove button. Charting Data You can use your reports to generate sophisticated and informative charts. Various types of data are often more well-suited for certain chart types, so SyncFirst includes several standard chart types. Bar charts are perhaps the simplest and most easily interpreted type of chart. These charts display totals for several groups of data. This type of chart is often used to show data totaled by time period, such as a monthly sales chart. Stacked bar charts can show several different subgroups within each group (such as sales by each department for each month). Line charts show the totals for each group as points of data connected by a line. This type of chart is often more useful in analyzing larger numbers of groups and in trend analysis. Bar and Line charts are general-purpose charts that can be used in a variety of applications, but SyncFirst also supports additional chart types that are most useful in specific applications. High-Low charts are most typically used in financial applications to show the high and low price for a given stock, but can also be used in any situation where you want to review the upper and lower values for a particular field. 37 P a g e

38 High-Low-Open-Close charts and Candle charts are similar to High-Low charts but show four values that represent the high, low, opening (or beginning) and closing (or ending) values for the indicated field. Since all charts are created from existing report data, they can quickly be generated with only a few mouse clicks. All charts are also automatically copied to the Windows clipboard so that they can easily be used in other applications. Some properties of each chart, such as scaling and data ranges, are determined automatically by SyncFirst. Fonts for all charts are set in the Options dialog. You specify the remaining settings for charts as you create them. Using the Chart Viewer Charts are displayed in the Chart Viewer. The Chart Viewer also includes options to print the displayed chart or export it to a PDF file. Exporting Charts to PDF Files Select the Create PDF menu item to save the currently displayed chart to a PDF file. SyncFirst then opens a File dialog to allow you to specify a filename and select a folder where the file will be created. When viewing a Quick Chart that was created with the Store Exports option selected, the filename specified here will be used when recreating the chart with the Stored Exports function. Printing Charts To output charts to a printer, select the Print menu item to display the standard Windows Print dialog. In general, charts generated by SyncFirst are most suitable for printing in landscape orientation and the program will usually configure your printer to use this mode automatically. However, you can use the Print dialog to switch to portrait orientation or change any other printer settings before printing a chart. Note that when displaying, exporting, and printing charts, SyncFirst automatically sizes graphical elements (bars and lines) to fit within the display area or on or to fit within an 8.5 x 11 page when printed. Text elements are sized according to the fonts selected in the Options dialog, unless the Automatically Resize Labels option is selected. Note also that when charts are displayed in the Chart Viewer, they are automatically copied to the Windows clipboard and can be pasted into other applications. 38 P a g e SyncFirst

39 Chapter 4. The Report Window Managing Projects The SyncFirst project system stores and manages all information for each project. It maintains records of report locations, field definitions, and the associated group levels. This chapter discusses the project system and related topics. It shows you how to: Select a report and add it to the project. Define criteria for selecting lines for each group level. Define fields for each group level This section provides an overview of the project system and describes each of the steps necessary to create and manage projects. It includes a discussion of how to create, remove, and modify projects, add new report files, and how to define group levels and fields. It also describes the special considerations that apply to projects that use PDF and XML files. Creating a Project Creating a new project only requires that you enter two text fields and select the file that will serve as the source report. To begin creating a project, select New Project from the File menu or click the New Project button. This opens the New Project dialog. Use this dialog to complete the following fields: Project Code: Use this field to create a code of up to 6 characters that will be assigned to the project. Project Title: Use this field to create a title that you will use to identify the project. Report Location: This field specifies the location of the file that will serve as the source report for the project. To select a file, begin by clicking on the search button. 39 P a g e

40 This opens a file dialog that allows you to navigate to the file that contains the data that you are interested in. After specifying the project code and title and selecting a report file, click the Save & Continue button. If you have selected an ordinary text file, this immediately opens the Report window, where you define each group level for the project. Projects that are based on PDF and XML files require special handling. This is described in the following sections. Managing PDF Projects The PDF standard is widely used by many software applications as an output format. SyncFirst allows you to use PDF files as source reports for your projects. PDF files must first undergo a conversion process and be saved as a text file. After conversion, these files are used to create group levels and fields so that you can extract data for display and export. When creating a project that uses a PDF file, you begin by using the Create a New Project dialog as you would when creating a project with a text file. After you select a PDF file and save the project, you are asked whether you want to convert the file. If you select the Yes button, a file dialog opens, allowing you to specify the name for a new file. The system then extracts the text data from the original file and saves the text in the file that you specified. Finally, the Report 40 P a g e SyncFirst

41 Chapter 4: The Report Window window displays and you can define the groups and fields for the project. Note: SyncFirst is designed to extract data from text files that contain columnar reports that use fixed fonts. These reports can be converted with only minimal reformatting. During conversion, SyncFirst will attempt to reformat files that use proportional fonts. However, some PDF files that contain complex formatting may not convert to columns that can be conveniently used to define fields. Managing XML Projects When creating an XML project, you begin by using the Create a New Project dialog to enter a project code, project title, and select a report as you would for a regular project. However, you must next select the table that will be used during the current session. The system will automatically create a "Text" field for each of the fields defined in this table. You can then double-click on any field in the Group Level List and use the Data Field Properties dialog to change the data type for that field. Note that you cannot change the names of fields when using XML projects. XML projects can be used to display the Table and Analysis windows, export data, and create charts in the same way that you would perform these functions with a normal text report. However, since fields are generated automatically, group levels are not used and you cannot apply templates or add new reports when using XML projects. Managing Group Levels Creating the group levels for a project involves 5 essential steps: 1) Identify the lines in the report that contain the data that you want to extract and copy each line to the Group Selection box. 41 P a g e

42 2) Tell the system how to recognize all of the lines that are like the sample. 3) Highlight text in each line and save it as a field by clicking the Save button. 4) Name the group level 5) Repeat the process for each additional group level. Reports often contain multiple group levels, sorted by one or more values at each group level. At the lowest level are the detail lines, which typically are the most numerous. For example, a list of employees might be grouped by department at the highest level, then by division, and finally by office number. When working within SyncFirst, you begin by telling the system how to recognize the detail lines and what fields should be extracted from them. This is repeated for each higher group level. In the example above, this would mean that you would first select an employee detail line from the report and identify a pattern that uniquely identifies those lines. You would then highlight each portion of this line that contains the data that you want to extract (such as employee name, age, salary, etc.) and define it as a field. You then repeat this process for the office group level, the division group level, and the department group level. 42 P a g e SyncFirst

43 Chapter 4: The Report Window Some reports place useful information in the header section of each page, outside of the regular group levels contained in the body of the report. SyncFirst handles situations like this by allowing you to add a special type of group to a project. Header Summary group levels can be used to create an additional level of grouping that uses only fields from page headers. Fields from the page header then appear in each row when the Table window is displayed. It is important to understand the layout of the Report window. Most of the Report window is occupied by the Report Display area. This area initially shows the first 1,000 lines of text from the file that you selected when creating the project. Immediately to the left of the Report Display area is the Field Display area. This area shows both a tree-like view of all of the fields that you have defined for the project and a second list of the fields for the currently selected group level. Above the Report Display and Field Display areas are 2 text boxes, which we will refer to as the Group Selection box and the Text Excerpt box. As you define each group level and add fields, the Report window updates the Field Display area. As you add and modify group levels, you will use the buttons below: Open the currently selected group level Remove the selected group level Add a new group level Add a new header summary group level Save the current group level Save the current group level and end editing Cancel edits to the current group level Reorder the group levels Automatically define selection criteria for the current group level Automatically create fields for the current group level Copies the current report line to the Group Selection box 43 P a g e

44 Read another 1,000 lines from the report Clear the Group Selection box As you define group levels for a project, they are automatically saved for repeated use when you reopen the project. To begin creating a new group level, click the New Group Level button or the New Header Summary button. Adding a group level involves 2 phases. You must specify the group selection criteria by telling the system how to recognize the lines that belong to the group level and also specify what data to extract (the fields) for the group level: Defining Group Selection Criteria To define the group selection criteria, you must: Select a line that is typical of the group to be selected Copy the line to the Text Excerpt box Tell the system how to recognize a pattern that will identify lines for this group level The first step in defining the group selection criteria is to select a line from the report. Scroll through the report and click on a line from the group level that you want to define. Then, click the Select the Current Line button. This places the text for the selected line in the Text Excerpt box. After selecting a line and placing it in the Text Excerpt box, you define the distinctive pattern that will identify the group level. To do this, you specify the characters or types of characters that are consistently found at a certain position in each line for this group level, but not in other lines. In most cases, you can you can do this by simply using the Define Selection Criteria button to automatically generate a pattern that will uniquely identify lines for the current group. When 44 P a g e SyncFirst

45 Chapter 4: The Report Window using this option, you should be certain that the line displayed in the Text Excerpt box is typical of the lines within this group, since SyncFirst will use this line to create a distinctive pattern and place it in the Group Selection box. Note that you can modify this pattern if necessary. In those cases where it is necessary to manually specify the pattern for a group level, you will need to select the position in the Group Selection box immediately above each distinctive character in the Text Excerpt box and tell the system what should appear in that position. This can be a specific character or you can designate that the selected position must contain a number, letter, blank space, or be non-blank. To indicate that a specific character must appear in that position, you simply type that character in the appropriate space. You can also use any of the buttons below to specify the contents of the currently selected position: Button Display Function Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as alphabetic # Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as numeric _ Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as blank * Mark the currently selected position in the Group Selection box as non-blank The table above shows each button used to define group selection criteria, the character it inserts in the Group Selection box, and its function. You can use these buttons and any combination of literal letters, cumbers, and symbols to uniquely identify lines for each group level. However, note that since some characters have the special meanings indicated above, you cannot use any of the characters in the Display Character column above as literal characters in group selection formulas. Automatically Defining Fields for a Group Level SyncFirst includes a feature that automatically finds fields in the line that you have placed in the Text Excerpt box. In general, this option will be most useful when working with lines that contain a large number of fields. 45 P a g e

46 To begin creating fields, select the Automatically Create Fields button. This copies the Text Excerpt box to the Field Editor, which also lists each field that the system was able to detect. At a minimum, you will probably want to change the name of your fields to something more meaningful. To do this, simply double-click on the name of each field and type in a new name. In many cases, this will all you will need to do, but you will often need to use the Combine, Add, and Remove buttons to modify the field list. Combining Fields Text fields that contain several words will generally appear to the system as a series of singleword fields. You can combine these to form a single field. To combine fields, use the grid to highlight the fields that you want to combine (click on the row for the first field and drag down until all of the fields that you want to combine are highlighted). Then, click the Combine button. Adding Fields To add a new field, you highlight the portion of the Text Excerpt text box that contains the text for the field. Click at the position where the field begins and drag the cursor to the right until the entire width of the field is highlighted. Then, click the Add button to add the field to the list. Removing Fields To remove fields, use the grid to highlight the fields that you want to combine (click on the row for the first field and drag down until all of the fields that you want to combine are highlighted). Then, click the Remove button. 46 P a g e SyncFirst

47 Chapter 4: The Report Window After the field list is complete, click the Save button to return to the Report window. Note that the Field Display area is updated with information from the Field Editor. Also, note that the Field Editor attempts to automatically determine the data type for each field (Text, Date, or Number). To change the data type, you will need to return to the Report window and use the Data Field Properties dialog as described in the next section. You can click Cancel at any time to return to the Report window and keep the original group hierarchy. Manually Defining Fields for a Group Level To create fields for a group level, you must: Highlight the text for each field in the Text Excerpt box Give each field a name and specify its field type Save each field to the field list As you add and modify fields, you will use the following buttons: Add a new field to the current group level Edit the currently selected field Delete the currently selected field The first step in adding a new field is to use the Text Excerpt box to highlight the portion of this text box that contains the text for the field. Click at the position where the field begins and drag the cursor to the right until the entire width of the field is highlighted (Note that if you double-click anywhere within the Text Excerpt box, SyncFirst will attempt to define the beginning and end of the field and automatically highlight it for you). After highlighting the field, click the Add a New Field button. This opens the Data Field Properties dialog, which is used to enter the details for the new field. 47 P a g e

48 This dialog contains only 2 fields: Field Name: Use this text box to specify a name for the new field. Field Type: Use this drop-down list to select the data type for the field. Click the Save Field button to add the new field to the field list for the current group level. You can then create additional fields by highlighting each portion of the text that you want to extract and specifying a new field name and type for each field. Field names may contain up to 64 characters and include any combination of letters, numbers, special characters, and spaces. However, if you plan to export data to a database, you should consider that certain databases place limits on which characters can be used in field names and name your fields accordingly. Also, note that using spaces or symbols in field names may cause unpredictable results when sorting and filtering tables. Note: Field types that you specify here are not checked against the actual data contained within your fields. Therefore, it is possible to create Number and/or Date fields that do not contain valid numbers or dates. When creating tables and generating export data, the system will attempt to convert these values to valid data wherever possible. However, data for Number fields that cannot be converted are set to zero (0) and data for Date fields that cannot be reformatted as dates are set to the current system date. 48 P a g e SyncFirst

49 Chapter 4: The Report Window Saving, Modifying, and Removing a Group Level After you have specified the group selection criteria and added each field, use the Description field to enter a descriptive name of up to 30 characters for the group level. You can then save the group level by clicking either the Save button or the Save and Close button. Note that the project is not actually updated with any changes that you have made until you save the group level. You can also use the Cancel button to exit from the current group level without saving any changes that you have made. You can use the Edit Group Level button or double-click on a group level in the Group Level List to make changes in a group level. This allows you to add or remove fields or change the data type for existing fields. You can also change the details of the group selection criteria. Note that you cannot use this function to change the name of an existing field. To change the name of an existing field, you must first remove the field and then recreate it. Group levels can be removed by clicking the Delete Group Level button. When removing group levels, you must begin with the highest group level (the group level that appears at the top of the Group Level List). To remove a lower-level group, you must first move it to the top of the list as described in the next section. Reordering Group Levels SyncFirst assumes that you will create group levels beginning with the lowest level of detail lines. Therefore, as you add new groups, the Group Level List shows the groups in descending order, with groups that were created most recently appearing at the top of the list. When extracting data and creating a table from the report, this hierarchy determines how records are generated. However, you can move group levels up and down in the list by clicking the Group Order button to display the Reorder Group Levels dialog. To change the group level hierarchy, click on the gray box in the first column of the row that 49 P a g e

50 you want to move and drag it up or down. Then, click the Save button when the groups are sorted in the desired order. The Report window then redisplays, with the Group Level List reflecting the changes that you ve made. Note that group levels are not reordered by this function until you click the Save button. You can click Cancel at any time to return to the Report window and keep the original group hierarchy. Adding Reports One of the most powerful features of SyncFirst is the ability of a single project to use data from an unlimited number of standard reports. This is especially useful when you have a series of identically formatted reports that are generated during various time periods or by various departments or divisions within an organization. Situations like these can be handled by simply designating a new report to be used by the project. To replace the project s source report, you begin by selecting Add Report from the File menu. You then use the Open file dialog to select the file that contains the new report. The selected report then appears in the Report Display area. Each of the group levels and fields for the current project are then automatically applied to the new report. Printing Reports When working within the Report window, you can print the project s source report. Select Print from the Report menu or click the Print Report button on the toolbar. This displays the standard Windows Print dialog, where you can select a printer and other options. 50 P a g e SyncFirst

51 Chapter 4: The Report Window By default, SyncFirst will print the entire report. To print only a portion of the report, use the mouse to highlight the section of the report that you want to print before launching the Print dialog. Then, choose the Selection option in the Print range section. Note that this function will only print the portion of a report that has been loaded by SyncFirst. When using reports that contain more than 1,000 lines, you must first ensure that the entire report has been loaded by clicking the Show More button. Using Bookmarks SyncFirst allows you to create bookmarks within each project that allow you to quickly jump to any position in the report. Like paper bookmarks, SyncFirst s electronic bookmarks make it easy to refer to frequently used information. You can create an unlimited number of bookmarks for each project and assign each one a unique name. Since bookmarks are saved within the project system, a carefully constructed system of bookmarks can even be used as a table of contents for a document. To add a bookmark, you first mark the location in the document that you want to be able to access. Once bookmarks have been created, you can use them to jump to any bookmarked location automatically. 51 P a g e

52 Creating a Bookmark Select the location in the document where you want to insert a bookmark. Select Add Bookmark from the Report menu This opens the Create a New Bookmark dialog. In the Bookmark Name field, type a name and click the Save button. NOTE: Bookmark names can be up to 50 characters in length and can include any combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Jumping to a bookmark Select Go to Bookmark from the Report menu In the Find a Bookmark dialog, select the desired bookmark from the list box Click the Go To button The document then advances to the location of the selected bookmark. 52 P a g e SyncFirst

53 Removing a Bookmark Bookmarks can be removed when no longer needed: Chapter 4: The Report Window Select Remove Bookmark from the Report menu In the Remove a Bookmark dialog, select the desired bookmark from the list box Click the Delete button Note: Bookmarks are stored within the project system and can be reused whenever you reopen the project. However, if you have added a new report to the project after creating a bookmark, it is possible that bookmarks may no longer refer to the same locations within the new report. Searching Reports To search for text in a report, select Find from the Report menu or click the Find button on the toolbar to display the Search dialog. Use the Search dialog to tell SyncFirst what text to search for and how to perform the search: Search For: Enter the text that you want to find in this field. Case-sensitive Search: Check this box if you the search to be case-sensitive. Match Whole String: Check this box if you want to search for only those lines that exactly match the text you specified in the Search For field. If you leave this box unchecked, the search will find any line that contains the specified text. To begin searching, click the Search button. The report display then moves to and highlights the first line that contains or matches the specified text. You can click the Search button repeatedly to find each occurrence of the specified text in the report. 53 P a g e

54 Note that searches cover only the portion of a report that has been loaded by SyncFirst. If you have selected a report that is more than 1,000 lines in length and want to search the entire report, you must ensure that the entire report is loaded by clicking the Show More button. Using Templates Templates make it possible to save and reuse group level and field information across any number of projects at will. You can use templates to store all of the information for a project except for the specific report that was used. Templates allow you to: Define a single set of fields and selection criteria that are needed to extract data from an unlimited number of standard reports Reduce the likelihood of errors by reusing logic that has already been applied and tested in previous projects Create complex data extraction logic that any user can apply without the need to understand the underlying concepts. By creating templates, you avoid the need to repeatedly perform the same steps each time you create a new project with a report or fields that are similar to those of another project. Creating a Template To create a new template, you first create a new project or open an existing project:. Create a new project or open an existing project. Make certain that the project includes all of the information for the group levels and fields that you want to store in the template Select Save Template from the File menu Use the Create a New Template dialog to assign a name to the template Click the Save button 54 P a g e SyncFirst

55 Chapter 4: The Report Window You can repeatedly modify the template by making changes to the current project and again selecting Save Template from the File menu. You can also create a new template with the same group levels and fields, by selecting Save Template As from the File menu. Note that each time you select Save Template, the group levels and fields for the most recently specified template will be replaced with those from the current project. Applying Templates After you have created templates, they can be selected and applied to your projects: Select Apply Template from the File menu. You will be warned that the field definitions for the current project will be overwritten. In the Select a Template dialog, select the desired template from the list box Click the Open button The group levels and fields from the template are then applied to the current project. Note that any previously defined group levels and fields for the project are lost when you execute this function and cannot be recovered. Note also that since fields for XML projects are defined within the source file, you cannot use templates with XML projects. 55 P a g e

56 Removing a Template Templates can be removed when no longer needed: Select Remove Template from the File menu In the Remove a Template dialog, select the desired bookmark from the list box Click the Remove button Projects that were built with a template are not affected when that template is removed from the system. 56 P a g e SyncFirst

57 Chapter 5. The Table Window After you define the fields that contain the data that will be extracted from the report and the necessary field selection criteria, select Table from the Window menu to view the Table window. The Table window allows you to view any or all of the records extracted from your report. You can also use the Table window to export data, create charts, and sort and filter records. Exporting Data To export data from the Table window, select Export from the Table menu or click the Export Data button on the toolbar. The Export dialog then displays. When exporting data, you must specify both the export format and the export destination. You use the Export dialog to select the export format or ODBC data source. If you want to store the 57 P a g e

58 export for reuse, you can also select the Store Export check box and specify a description of up to 25 characters that you will use when executing the export at a later date. SyncFirst allows you to export data from the Table window to a number of popular data interchange formats: Character-separated values Microsoft Excel HTML Adobe Acrobat PDF Rich Text Format XML SyncFirst also allows you to export data to MS Access, SQL Server, and Oracle ODBC data sources. 58 P a g e SyncFirst

59 Chapter 5: The Table Window After completing the Export dialog, you must specify either an export directory and file name or ODBC connection details. When exporting to one of the standard data formats, export files are saved in the system folders specified in the Options dialog by default. However, you can use the file dialog to navigate to an alternative location. When exporting to an ODBC data source, you will need to specify, at a minimum, the database and table names. Some databases will also require that you provide a user name, password, and server name. SyncFirst will retrieve as much of this information as possible from the ODBC system. Filtering the Table When the Table window displays for the first time, field values from every record in the table are displayed. However, you may want to show only a subset of these records and hide the others from view. For example, you may want to view: only records for customers in a specific state or city only records for a range of customer numbers only records for amounts due as of a specific due date SyncFirst allows you to do this by creating Table Filters that limit the records displayed in the table. When you create a Table Filter, you choose each field to which you want to apply specific selection criteria and then you specify the criteria. Table Filters can be used to create simple or complex record selection criteria. For example: purchases in excess of $1,000 payments due by July 1 employees who live in Detroit You could create a filter that would be limited to any one of these criteria. You could also create a filter that would cause the table to display only records that meet all of the criteria. In general, Table Filters allow you to specify a value that must exist in a field or a range of values that a field can contain. The program will compare the value of the selected field in each record to the value that you specify and display only records with values that match or fall within the indicated range. 59 P a g e

60 Defining the record selection criteria To create a Table Filter, select Filter from the Table menu or click the Filter button on the toolbar. The New Table Filter dialog then displays. To create the filter: 1. Use the Report Field drop-down list to select the field that contains the data that you want to filter. 2. Use the Comparison Operator drop-down list to select the comparison that will be performed on the data. SyncFirst then lists each value from the filter field in the Value drop-down list. You can select a value from this list or type a value directly into the box. 3. Click the Add button to copy the condition to the list box. 4. Repeat this process for each condition that will be added to the filter. If you enter a condition in error, simply click on the appropriate line to highlight it and then click the Delete button to remove it from the list. After completing the list of conditions, click the Save button to return to the Table window and view the filtered data. You can also return to the Table window without creating a filter by clearing the list box and clicking the Save button. To remove a filter and display all rows from the table, select Remove Filter from the Table menu. Modifying the Table Design The Table window displays records in a tabular format, with one row for each record extracted from your report. By default, fields are displayed in columns in the order that the fields were created. SyncFirst allows you to use the Table Design dialog to customize the table so that fields display in a more suitable order. You can also add and remove calculated fields. To access the 60 P a g e SyncFirst

61 Chapter 5: The Table Window Table Design dialog, select Design from the Table menu or click the Table Design button on the toolbar. The Table Design dialog lists the name and type of each field that has been defined for the current project. For each calculated field, it also displays the formula that is used to derive its values. To change the display order of fields in the Table window, simply click on the gray box in the first column of the row for each field that you want to move and drag it up or down in the grid. When all fields are listed in the sequence that you want them to appear in the Table window, click the Save Design button to rebuild and redisplay the Table window. Using Calculated Fields A calculated field is a field whose value is derived from other fields in the same row. Calculated fields can be used to perform arithmetic computations or extract data from a field. You can create and save multiple calculated fields. Once a calculated field is created, it is displayed in the Table window and can be exported along with other fields from the report, but cannot be used in filter expressions or charts. 61 P a g e

62 To create a calculated field, click the Add Field button on the Table Design dialog. The New Calculated Field dialog then appears. Select the function that will be applied from the list box at the left and the field that contains the data from the list box at the right. Then use the Field Name text box to specify a name for the field and click the Save Field button to return to the Table Design dialog. To save changes to the table design and return to the Table window, click the Save Design button. Sorting data SyncFirst makes it easier to review data in the Table window by allowing you to sort the display according to any combination of fields. When the Table window displays for the first time, the data within the fields is determined by the sequence of lines in the original source file. In many cases, this will be acceptable, but it may be difficult to locate information in the table. By sorting the table into a logical sequence, you can make it much easier to locate and evaluate specific data. For example, sorting an accounts receivable table by customer number can make it easier to find records for a particular customer. Understanding Sort Options When sorting the table, you should be conscious of three things: Choosing the sort field and sort order How SyncFirst sorts text fields The sort order (ascending or descending) Choosing the Sort Field and Sort Order You can choose the field that SyncFirst uses to sort the table by simply clicking on any column header. When you click on a column header, the table will be sorted in ascending or descending order based on the values in the selected field. Whether the field is sorted in ascending or descending order depends on three criteria: If the table is not currently sorted by the selected field, it will be sorted in ascending order If the table is sorted in ascending order based on the selected field, it will be sorted in descending order If the table is sorted in descending order based on the selected field, it will be sorted in ascending order 62 P a g e SyncFirst

63 Chapter 5: The Table Window This means that in order to sort an unsorted table in ascending order based on a single field, you would click on that field s column header once. To sort the table in descending order, you would click on the same column header a second time. How SyncFirst Sorts Data The Table window can be made to display data in any order based on the sort field(s) that you select. Any field, including calculated fields, can be used as a sort field. The program will sort data from each field according to the data types that you designate, as shown in the following table: Field Type Text and Calculated Fields Number Fields Date Fields Sort Order (First to Last) Blanks Symbols Numbers Uppercase Letters Lowercase Letters Length of Text Numeric Order Chronological Order Sorting on Multiple Fields When sorting by a single field, records are displayed in the table sorted based on the values in that field alone. For example, an accounts receivable table that is sorted by customer number may also include a field that shows the amount due, but this field has no effect on the order in which the records are listed. To sort on multiple fields, you simply click on the column header for each field that you want to use to sort the table, clicking once to sort in ascending order or twice to sort in descending order. However, each column must be selected in the correct order, beginning with the least significant field and ending with the most significant field. For example, you might want to display a table listing employee data sorted by region first, then by state, and by zip code at the lowest level. To achieve this sort order, you would first click the column header for the zip code field, then click the column header for the state field, and finally click the zip code header. Note that the sort order of the Table window allows you to display records in a more meaningful sequence so that you can locate and review data more effectively. However, this does not affect the order in which records are exported. Data exported from the Table window are always exported in the order in which they appear in the original source file. To change the order in which records are exported, you must use the Analysis window to create a summary and use the Export Summary function to perform the export. 63 P a g e

64 Printing the Table In addition to its options for exporting data to various file formats and databases, SyncFirst also allows you to output table data to a printer. To begin printing the table, select Print from the Table menu or click the Print Table button on the toolbar. This displays the standard Windows Print dialog, where you can select the printer that will be used to print the table. After you complete the Print dialog, the program will first display the Print Preview dialog. This gives you an opportunity to see the output exactly as it will be printed, including field headers and row numbers. Note that tables with a large number of fields may be too wide to print on a standard page. By examining the Print Preview dialog, you can get a better idea of the width of the table as it will appear when printed. Note also that you can use this dialog to zoom in and out and navigate through the table one page at a time. To print the table, click the Print button or click Close to return to the Table window. Creating Quick Charts SyncFirst allows you to easily generate bar charts or line charts from the Table window. Bar charts show totals for a summary field that you select, expressed as a series of vertical bars. Line charts also show the totals for a summary field, but show the totals as a series of connected points of data. Both types of chart can be stored for reuse and can be configured to show either the count of each value for the selected summary field or the sum of each value for the summary field. To create either chart, you simply select it from the Table menu. This displays the Quick Chart dialog. 64 P a g e SyncFirst

65 Chapter 5: The Table Window To configure your charts, enter each field as described below: Summary Type: Select Count to display a chart that shows the count of items for each Summary Field value or Total if you want the chart to show a sum for each Summary Field value. Chart Title: Use this field to create a title of up to 75 characters for the chart. The title appears centered at the top of the chart, using the font specified in the Options dialog. Summary Field: Select the field whose data will be summarized in the chart. The values for this field appear along the X-axis of the chart. Store Exports: Select this check box if you want to save this as a stored export. If this box is checked, you must also enter a description in the next field. Description: Use this field to enter a description of up to 25 characters that you will use to identify the stored export when you use the Stored Exports function to regenerate the chart. This field is enabled only if you check the Store Exports check box. Field to Total: Choose the field that contains the amounts to be totaled and displayed as points on the chart. Only numeric fields will be listed here. Also, note that this field is enabled only if you selected the Total summary type. Click the Display button to view the chart. You can then print the chart, export it to a PDF file, or close the Chart Viewer. This function includes an option to create a stored export (by selecting the Store Exports check box). When you execute stored exports, export files are automatically created in the default PDF Export folder. By default, these files are given the name Quick Bar Chart.pdf for Quick Bar Charts and Quick Line Chart.pdf for Quick Line Charts. However, if you use the Create PDF option of the Chart Viewer, these files will be given the filename that you specify. 65 P a g e

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67 Chapter 6. The Analysis Window Like the Table window, the Analysis window displays records in a tabular format. However, the Analysis window automatically sorts the data and breaks it into groups. It then shows records in a hierarchical format, displaying summary amounts for each key field(s) that you select. In the example above, the amount due during each aging period is totaled for each vendor. You can create any level of detail in the Analysis window and can expand or collapse the record display based on your key fields. You can export and chart summary data from the Analysis window, but must first group records from the Table window to form a summary. This means that you will need to designate at least one field as a key field and at least one field to serve as a summary field. Many summaries will include several key fields and summary fields. If you plan to generate summary charts from your data, it is important to choose key fields and summary fields carefully, since those charts will be based on data from these fields. Summary fields allow you to view a variety of information about your data, including the totals, averages, percentages, minimums, and maximums. There is also an option to count the records for each summary field. The next section explains how to group records to form a summary. 67 P a g e

68 Defining the Summary To create a summary, select Define New Summary from the Analysis menu or click the Define Summary button. This opens the Create a Summary dialog. The first step in defining the summary is to choose one of the Summary Type radio buttons. This determines how SyncFirst calculates the amounts shown for each summary field. You have several options for calculating summary amounts: Total - Total the values in each group Count - Count the records in each group Average - Calculate the average value within each group Percentage - Show the percentage of the total value that each group represents Minimum - Show the minimum amount within each group Maximum - Show the maximum amount within each group After choosing the summary type, you select the key field(s) for the summary. 68 P a g e SyncFirst

69 Chapter 6: The Analysis Window Choosing the Key Field To create a summary for the Analysis window, you must select at least one key field. Key fields are used to sort and separate data into meaningful groups. In an accounts receivable list, for example, the top-level group might consist of all customers located in the same region while a second, lower-level group might consist of customers located in the same state. This would mean that you would designate the region and state fields as key fields. In an expense report, a group might consist of all the purchases made during each month or all of the purchases made by a particular department. In this case, you would designate the month field or the department field as a key field. Use the Available Key Fields list box to click on each field that you want to use as a key field (note that you can select several fields simultaneously). Then, click on the Add-> button to move each highlighted field to the Key Fields to Summarize list box. You can remove a field from the list by selecting it and clicking the <-Remove button. The Analysis window will display records grouped and sorted by the fields listed in the Key Fields to Summarize box. In the example above, you would select the region field as the first field in the list, followed by the state field. This would cause the system to display a summary that lists the amounts calculated for each region. You could then drill-down to view the calculated amounts for each state and each individual record. Choosing the Summary Field Summary fields allow you to see the results of calculations on each group of records in addition to the details of each record. In the accounts receivable example this might allow you to: Calculate the average accounts receivable for each region during each month. At a lower level, you could also see the average accounts receivable for each state during each month. Show the number of customers with balances due in each region. At the lower level, the summary would show the number of customers in each state. You select summary fields in the same way that you select key fields. The Available Total Fields list box lists each field that you have defined for the project. Use this list to highlight each field that you want to use as a summary field. Then, click on the Add-> button to move each field to the Fields to Total list box. You can also remove a field from this list by highlighting it and clicking the <-Remove button. After choosing the summary type, key field(s), and summary field(s), clicking the Display button. This causes the Analysis window to display the summary. You can then view or hide detail from the table for the current project. To view additional detail, click on the plus sign (+) at the left of a row to expand it and show the next summary level or the detail rows below it. To collapse a row, click on the minus sign (-) that replaced the plus sign. 69 P a g e

70 Note that you cannot print, export, or chart data from the Analysis window until you have created a summary and that you can redefine a summary by returning to this function at any time and selecting new key fields and summary fields. Printing a Summary Like the Table window, the Analysis window allows you to output data to a printer. However, since the summary will be printed exactly as it appears in the Analysis window, you can drill down to cause the printed output to show both summary totals and detail records. To begin printing the summary, select Print Summary from the Analysis menu or click the Print Summary button on the toolbar. This displays the standard Windows Print dialog. You can then review or print the summary as described in Printing the Table. Exporting a Summary SyncFirst allows you to export summary or detail data from the Analysis window to the most popular data interchange formats. When exporting data, you must specify both the export format and the export destination. You use the Summary Export dialog to select the export format. By default, only summary lines are exported from the Analysis window. Select the Show Detail Lines check box if you want the exported file to include both summary and detail lines. After completing the Summary Export dialog, you must specify an export directory and filename. Export files are saved in the system folders specified in the Options dialog by default. However, you can use the file dialog to navigate to an alternative location. 70 P a g e SyncFirst

71 Creating Summary Charts Chapter 6: The Analysis Window Charts are one of the most versatile and effective tools for presenting information. SyncFirst provides options for creating many different types of charts, as well as for controlling their content and format. For example, the chart below shows a quantitative comparison of items for a fictional organization, broken down by region and fiscal year. In this example, SyncFirst accumulates a simple count of line items for each Region (a field defined in the project) and groups them by Fiscal Year (another field defined in the project). Note that the count of line items in this example could be replaced by total billings, expenditures, or the amounts for any numeric field. The next chart shows a time-line graph of accounts receivable broken down by aging period for each account. In this case, the graph shows the total due from each client that falls within each range of Due Dates (specified as fields within the project). Quantitative and time-line graphs are perhaps the most fundamental types of charts that SyncFirst creates and can form the basis for many more sophisticated charts. The examples shown here illustrate some ways to use stacked bar and line charts. You can also create Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo-Open-Close, and Candle charts from your files. This section describes each type of chart and how to create it. 71 P a g e

72 Creating Summary Bar Charts Summary Bar Charts display data for several groups of data, with each group assigned a color. To create a Summary Bar Chart, begin by selecting Bar Chart Summary from the Analysis menu or clicking the Bar Chart Summary button from the toolbar. Enter each field as described below: X-Axis Field: Select the field whose data will be summarized in the chart. The values for this field appear along the X-axis of the chart. Bar Fill Field: This is the field that will be grouped within each vertical bar and shown in the legend. In the chart shown above, this is the Fiscal Year field. 72 P a g e SyncFirst