VUEWorks Report Generation Training Packet

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Anthony Goodwin
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VUEWorks Report Generation Training Packet Thursday, June 21,

2 Table of Contents VUEWorks Reporting Course Description... 3 Generating Reports... 3 Training Notes... 8 Generate a standard report (Additional Information)... 9 Generating Reports Training Notes Dynamic Reporting Signal Pole Subcategory Inspection Summary Performance Measures Reporting Export Reports to PDF Training Notes About Dynamic Reports Lesson on Creating a Dynamic Report Training Notes Setting Up Data Sources and Building Relationships New Data Sources Creating Data Source Relationships Setting up Filter Prompts Set up Pick Lists Creating the Filter on the Report Some Common SQL Codes Additional Resources Training Notes Page 2 of 53

3 VUEWorks Reporting Course Description VUEWorks Reporting Course is intended for those interested in learning more about developing their own reports. The system has two main reporting tools, Traditional and Dynamic. Traditional reports have a few different default template systems. Generally, they are simple in nature and present data in a tabular format. Dynamic reports are similar to MS Access report writer or the Crystal report writer. Dynamic reports are using the Stimulsoft report generator commonly used with SQL Reporting Services. For those interested in developing their skills in this tool set, we recommend the two links below for additional training tools. Stimulsoft Video Series: (We recommend Features and Categories Series to start with.) Stimulsoft User Manual: (This is the online version. A pdf version is also available under documentation.) Generating Reports There are two types of report generation tools in VUEWorks, Traditional and Dynamic Reporting. During this training, Traditional Reporting is discussed. Dynamic Reporting is covered in an Advanced Administration course. Since the reporting tools are consistent from module to module, we are using the Work Order module to demonstrate reporting. 1. Within VUEWorks, expand the Work Orders menu option. Select the Find/Manage/Report menu option. The window defaults to the Filter tab. Run a filter for the desired data set. Note: For better report generation, select a smaller data set when creating reports using the filter before moving to reports. Page 3 of 53

4 2. Click on the Reports tab. Then click on the Traditonal tab. On the left side is a report tree for Bureau and Group. Reports can be created unique for each Bureau or Group or can be shared across the groups. Below is a list of the delivered reports. With the current filter selection, run any of these reports to see a traditional style report. 3. Traditional reports are generally tabular in structure and are great for lists, barcode printing, and data summaries. Click on the New button to create a traditional report. Page 4 of 53

4. Enter in a Report Name. For Training purposes, put your FirstName-ReportName for the report name. The report title appears at the top of the report as a header.

5 4. Enter in a Report Name. For Training purposes, put your FirstName-ReportName for the report name. The report title appears at the top of the report as a header. The report header allows the creation and use of standard letterhead with special fonts and pictures or agency logos. We are not doing a report header in this course. Change the Orientation from Portrait to Landscape to provide more space for columns. For this basic report, keep all the other settings as marked. Then click on the Save button to save the report. Click on the Next button to move to the next screen. 5. The Traditional Report Designer displays. To add a column, click on the Add Column button at the top. Page 5 of 53

6. In the mid-section, the selection list displays. Select the Category and Field for the column. Formatting options are available. This is where you could format a number as a barcode. 7.

Continue to Add Column until you have all the columns needed. 11. When you have selected all the fields, click on the Save button. You can save anytime you make a change and would like to preview it.

6 6. In the mid-section, the selection list displays. Select the Category and Field for the column. Formatting options are available. This is where you could format a number as a barcode. 7. Continue to add the number of columns and fields for the report. 8. Some field types allow for summary options. 9. To the right is an example of the summary options. 10. Continue to Add Column until you have all the columns needed. 11. When you have selected all the fields, click on the Save button. You can save anytime you make a change and would like to preview it. 12. The displayed columns can be formatted in terms of size/length, column title, and alignment. Select the column and then make the changes. Preview the results at any time. Saving is required before previewing. 13. Click on the Next button to continue with report Sorting, Grouping, and Footer creation. Page 6 of 53

7 14. Enter in any sorting criteria, indicate ascending or descending, and add any other formatting desired. Click on the Next button to display the Access screen. 15. The Set Report Access works the same as the Filter Save feature. Select the Users or Roles and click on the right arrow to give access. Select on the right side any User or Roles and click on the left arrow to remove access. 16. Save the report and preview or print the report. All reports display in a window prior to being printed and most pop up a separate window. If it does not work, check for pop up blockers, allow pop ups, and then run the report again. Page 7 of 53

8 Training Notes Page 8 of 53

Generate a standard report (Additional Information) Menu path: [asset_class] > Manage Facility > Filter tab > enter search criteria > Table tab > Report tab > Traditional sub-tab Standard reports

All facilities reports data currently listed in the Table tab of the Manage Facilities screen. 1. From the Navigation pane, select the appropriate asset class and click Manage Facilities. 2.

9 Generate a standard report (Additional Information) Menu path: [asset_class] > Manage Facility > Filter tab > enter search criteria > Table tab > Report tab > Traditional sub-tab Standard reports consist of basic information in a very basic layout. You can then use the standard report templates to generate reports of your own, as well as make simple changes to their content IMPORTANT! All facilities reports data currently listed in the Table tab of the Manage Facilities screen. 1. From the Navigation pane, select the appropriate asset class and click Manage Facilities. 2. When the Manage Facilities screen appears, go to the Filter tab and enter any search criteria for the facilities you want as part of the report. For details, see Search for facilities, containers, or assets.. After you apply the filter, go to the Table View tab to view the list of facilities that qualify. 3. If these are the facilities you want in the report, click the Reports tab and select the Traditional subtab. The Facility Types pane on the left lists the different types of facilities that should be included in the report. There is only one choice for traditional reports All. Once you make a selection you will see information appear in the right-hand pane. The Available Reports pane on the right lists the report templates you can use for the selected facility type(s). Note: The Administrator set up these templates. They will vary by company. 4. Select the type of report you think you want to print. If you not sure what the report looks like, select the report from the list and click Preview. The report appears in a Core Report Viewer window. Page 9 of 53

A browser window or tab appears, displaying a PDF report.

10 5. When you are done examining the preview, click Print to generate it. Or, you can click Close to return to the Manage Facilities screen, select a different report and click Print. A browser window or tab appears, displaying a PDF report. From there, you can download or print a report, as well as zoom in and out of it. Note: If you do not see the PDF report, pop-ups are probably disabled. Use your browser options to enable them. Page 10 of 53

Here are some of the types of reports you can print.

11 Here are some of the types of reports you can print. Inventory Report: This type of report identifies all assets inside the facility. Here is an example. Tabular Report: This type of report contains a table with a pre-defined set of columns. Here is an example of a Building Condition report. 6. When you are done looking at the report, close the browser window or tab and return to the Manage Facilities screen. Page 11 of 53

7. If you want to make some slight changes to the report before you print it, select the report from the

The Traditional Report Designer screen appears. What follows is a brief overview of the changes you can make.

Note: Red fields with asterisks (*) are required: a.

12 7. If you want to make some slight changes to the report before you print it, select the report from the Available Reports pane and click the Edit button at the bottom of the Traditional tab. The Traditional Report Designer screen appears. What follows is a brief overview of the changes you can make. For detailed instructions. a. The first page that appears contains some basic information. Note: Red fields with asterisks (*) are required: a. Report Name (required): This is the name that appears in the Existing Report Templates pane of the Traditional tab. b. Report Title: This name will appear at the top of the generated report. Page 12 of 53

c. Report Header: This is a running header that appears above the title, such as your company name and location. It can be repeated on every page. To define a header, click the Manage Headers icon.

Note: The height needs to be great enough to accommodate the header text and images, if any. Specify the font type, size, and style, along with any images you might want to use in the header.

13 c. Report Header: This is a running header that appears above the title, such as your company name and location. It can be repeated on every page. To define a header, click the Manage Headers icon. The Report Header Editor dialog appears. Provide a name for the heading (for reference) and its text. Specify the height of the header area (you also specify the units of measurement for the height). Note: The height needs to be great enough to accommodate the header text and images, if any. Specify the font type, size, and style, along with any images you might want to use in the header. Click Save when you are done to close the dialog. d. Style (required): Indicates the type of report you want to generate: Form: Report looks like a form. Tabular: Report is a table of data with one field per column and one record per row. Advanced Tabular. Report is a table of data with multiple fields per column and multiple records per row. Form Merge. Report is generated by merging in data from VUEWorks selection sets. e. Report Title Style: This is the font used for the title. Page 13 of 53

14 b. Press Next to view the next page where you specify what should be included in the report: Header Duplicate Calls Work Orders Details Linked Calls Comments Assets Documents c. Click Next again to view the page where you specify how you want the columns in the table sorted and formatted. d. Click Next one more time to view the page where you specify who should be able to access the report. e. At any time, you can click Previous to return to a previous page. f. When you re done, click Save and then Close to save your changes and return to the Traditional tab. Note: The changed report template is saved under the same name it had when you opened it. If you want to it to have a different name, you need to use Copy instead. See Step 9: Copy a traditional report template. g. From the Existing Report Templates pane, select the report and click Print. 8. To delete an existing report template, select it from the Existing Report Templates pane and click the Delete button. The report name will no longer appear under the Existing Report Templates pane. 9. To copy an existing traditional report template to serve as the basis for a new one, select the report and click Copy. a. When the Traditional Report Designer screen appears, change the Report name and Report title and then follow the same process as for Step 7: Make changes to a traditional report. b. Once you re finished, click Save and the name of the new report will appear under the Existing Report Templates pane. Page 14 of 53

Generating Reports There are two types of report generation tools in VUEWorks, Traditional and Dynamic Reporting. During this training, Traditional Reporting will be discussed.

15 Generating Reports There are two types of report generation tools in VUEWorks, Traditional and Dynamic Reporting. During this training, Traditional Reporting will be discussed. Dynamic Reporting will be covered in an Advanced Administration course. Since the reporting tools are consistent from module to module, we will use the Work Order module to demonstrate reporting. 17. Within VUEWorks, expand the Work Orders menu option. Select Find/Manage/Report menu option. The window will default to the Filter tab. Note: For better report generation, select a smaller data set when creating reports using the filter before moving to reports. 18. Click on the Report tab. Then click on the Traditonal tab. On the left side is a report tree for Bureau and Group. Reports can be created unique for each bureau or group or can be shared across the groups. Below is a list of the delivered reports. With the current filter selection, run any of these reports to see a traditional style report. 19. Traditional reports are generally tabular in structure and are great for lists, barcode printing and data summaries. Click on the New button to create a traditional report. Page 15 of 53

16 20. Enter in a Report Name. For Training purposes, put your FirstName-ReportName for the report name. The Report Title will appear at the top of the report as a Header. The Report header allows the creation and use of standard letterhead with special fonts and pictures or company logos. We will not be doing a report header in this course. Change the Orientation from Portrait to Landscape to provide more space for columns. For this basic report, keep all the other settings as marked. Then click on the Save button to save the report. Click on the Next button to move to the next screen. Page 16 of 53

21. The Traditional Report Designer will display. To add a column, click on the Add Column button at the top. 22. In the mid-section the selection list display.

17 21. The Traditional Report Designer will display. To add a column, click on the Add Column button at the top. 22. In the mid-section the selection list display. Select the Category and Field for the column. Formatting options are available. This is where you could format a number as a barcode. 23. Continue to add the number of columns and fields for the report. 24. Some field types will allow for summary options. Page 17 of 53

25. This is an example of the summary options. 26. Continue to Add Column until you have all the columns needed. 27. When you have selected all the fields, click on the Save button.

18 25. This is an example of the summary options. 26. Continue to Add Column until you have all the columns needed. 27. When you have selected all the fields, click on the Save button. You can save anytime you make a change and would like to Preview it. 28. The displayed columns can be formatted in terms of size/length, column title and alignment. Select the column and then make the changes. Preview the results at any time. Saving will be required before previewing. 29. Click on the Next button to continue with report Sorting, Grouping and Footer creation. Page 18 of 53

30. Enter in any sorting criteria, indicate ascending or descending and other formatting desired. Click on the Next button to display the Access screen. 31.

Select on the right side any User or Roles and click on the Left Arrow to remove access. 32. Save the report and preview or print the report.

19 30. Enter in any sorting criteria, indicate ascending or descending and other formatting desired. Click on the Next button to display the Access screen. 31. The Set Report Access works the same as the Filter Save feature. Select the Users or Roles and click on the Right Arrow to give access. Select on the right side any User or Roles and click on the Left Arrow to remove access. 32. Save the report and preview or print the report. All reports will display in a window prior to being printed and most pop up a separate window. If it does not work, check for PopUP Blockers and allow PopUps and then run the report again. Page 19 of 53

20 Training Notes Page 20 of 53

21 Dynamic Reporting Signal Pole Subcategory Inspection Summary 1. Select Work Orders, select Find/Manage/Report, select Reports tab. The Dynamic Report tab will open. 2. The window defaults to the Filter tab, select the Reports tab. The Dynamic Report tab will open. Below is an example of the Dynamic reports available for printing. 3. Select the SignalPoleSubcategoryInspectionSummary report in the right-side list of reports. Then select Preview. Page 21 of 53

22 4. Select the Date to run the report. The report will run the previous 12 completed months. For example, May 5, 2017 will return April 2017 back to May Select the District if desired to report only District inspections and click on the Submit button. The report will generate based on the filters selected. 5. Reports can also be printed from the GIS Assets. From the main menu, select the GIS Assets and then select Find/Manage/Report. Page 22 of 53

The GIS Assets - Find/Manage/Report window will open. If any assets are in the data viewer from an earlier selection, it is recommended to clear them by clicking on the red X on the Data Viewer.

23 The GIS Assets - Find/Manage/Report window will open. If any assets are in the data viewer from an earlier selection, it is recommended to clear them by clicking on the red X on the Data Viewer. You can also clear them on the GIS Assets Filter window by clicking on the Clear Selection button. 6. In the Table/Layer drop down list, select the Overhead Signs Layer, in the Field drop down list select District, in the Operator drop down list select Equal To, and then select one of the 9 districts available in the Select a Value drop down list. The first level of the filter criteria is set. Page 23 of 53

24 7. Select the +Condition control and verify that AND is selected above the first criterial field. Then verify that Overhead Signs is selected in the Table/Layer drop down list then in the Field drop down list select Next Inspection Date, in the Operator drop down list select between then enter 01/01/2017 in the first Date date field and 04/30/2017 in the second Date field. The second level of filter is set. 8. Reminder, if any assets are already in the selection set, the filter could add to that list. You can clear the current selected assets from the Data Viewer by clicking the Clear Selection button then click the Apply Filter button to apply your new filter. The filter is run, assets are selected and displayed in the Data Viewer window. 9. To print or export the list of assets with attributes, click on the Asset Table tab then Layer Specific View button. Page 24 of 53

25 The list of assets will be listed in rows with columns as the attribute fields. 10. To export to Excel and then to print, select the Export to Excel button in the lower left corner of the window. This will export all the assets in the selection set in rows with all the attributes as columns. Page 25 of 53

26 Page 26 of 53

27 11. To print the assets and attributes in a form view, select the Reports tab and All then the GIS_Attribute_Report and select Preview. This will display the assets with a list of their attributes one at a time in a form view that is formatted to print to letter size paper. Page 27 of 53

28 Performance Measures Reporting 1. Select Work Orders, select Find/Manage/Report, select Reports tab. The Dynamic Report tab will open. 2. Select the PerformanceMeasures report in the right-side list of reports, select Preview. The report previewer window will open. Page 28 of 53

29 3. Select the Date Range, Division (if desired), and District (if desired) and select Submit. The report will generate based on the filters selected. Page 29 of 53

30 Export Reports to PDF Use a configured Form Report for individual Inspection Work Order Reports to be exported to pdf for sealing by a PE. 1. In the Work Order Menu, select Find / Manage / Report, On the Filter tab select the drop down of Saved Filters. Select the Lighting and Camera Pole filter and select Load. Then select the drop down by values next to the District field and select the district you want to search. The filter is run and work orders are selected. 2. Select Preview to view the reports and then Save As to export to a pdf. Page 30 of 53

31 The form report is exported to pdf. Page 31 of 53

32 Training Notes Page 32 of 53

33 About Dynamic Reports Dynamic reports are customized reports created by report designers using a Dynamic Report Designer interface with a step-by-step wizard. The Dynamic Report Designer interface lets report designers pull information from multiple data sources, group the data, and apply special layout templates to produce reports that are far more customized than traditional reports. You can then use the dynamic report template to generate reports of your own. Accessing Dynamic Reports from any of the main modules by going to the menu option Find/Manage/Report. For the Facilities Module, you will navigate to the Manage Facilities. For GIS Assets, you can access from the GIS Assets menu option or by clicking on the Reports Icon in the data viewer when a list of assets is selected. Below is an example from the Facility Module. 1. From the Navigation pane, select the appropriate asset class and click Manage Facilities. 2. When the Manage Facilities screen appears, go to the Filter tab and enter any search criteria for the facilities you want as part of the report. For details, see Search for facilities, containers, or assets.. After you apply the filter, go to the Table View tab to view the list of facilities that qualify. 3. If these are the facilities you want in the report, click the Reports tab and select the Dynamic subtab. The Facility Types pane on the left lists the different types of facilities that should be included in the report. One you make a selection you will see information appear in the right-hand pane. Page 33 of 53

The Available Reports pane on the right lists the report templates you can use for the selected facility type(s). Note: The Administrator set up these templates.

If you not sure what the report looks like, select the report from the list and click Preview. The report appears in the Dynamic Report Viewer window.

When you know the dynamic report you want to generate, select it from the Available Reports pane and click Print. A browser window or tab appears, displaying a PDF report.

34 The Available Reports pane on the right lists the report templates you can use for the selected facility type(s). Note: The Administrator set up these templates. They will vary by company. 4. Select the type of report you think you want to print. If you not sure what the report looks like, select the report from the list and click Preview. The report appears in the Dynamic Report Viewer window. When you are done examining the preview, click the X in the upper-right corner of the window to close it and return to the Manage Facilities window. 5. When you know the dynamic report you want to generate, select it from the Available Reports pane and click Print. A browser window or tab appears, displaying a PDF report. From there, you can download or print a report, as well as zoom in and out of it. Note: If you do not see the PDF report, pop-ups are probably disabled. Use your browser options to enable them. 6. When you are done looking at the report, close the browser window or tab and return to the Manage Facilities screen. Page 34 of 53

7. If you want to make changes to the report before you print it, select the report from the Available Reports pane and click the Edit button at the bottom of the Dynamic tab.

What follows is a brief overview of the interface and the changes you can make to a report dynamic template. We recommend experienced report designers make these changes. b. Ribbons: Along the top of the grid are three ribbons with a variety of functions.

Home: This ribbon has basic functions you will use most of the time for saving, copying, pasting, formatting, and coloring items in the report template.

35 7. If you want to make changes to the report before you print it, select the report from the Available Reports pane and click the Edit button at the bottom of the Dynamic tab. The Stimulsoft Dynamic Report Designer screen appears. Note: We recommend that only experienced report designers make changes using this interface. a b c a. What follows is a brief overview of the interface and the changes you can make to a report dynamic template. We recommend experienced report designers make these changes. b. Ribbons: Along the top of the grid are three ribbons with a variety of functions. The ribbons and functions behave like many seen in Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. Home: This ribbon has basic functions you will use most of the time for saving, copying, pasting, formatting, and coloring items in the report template. Page: This ribbon lets you set the margins and orientation of the report, along with turning on and off grid lines, headers, and more. It also lets you zoom in and out. Layout: This ribbon lets you move items to the foreground or background. c. Grid: This is the largest area of the interface. It is a grid displaying the layout and components of the report. Click any item on the grid to select it and make changes to its parameters. d. Parameters pane: To the right of the grid is an expandable pane containing parameters of the report. e. Action buttons Access: Bring up a dialog where you specify who should have access to the report. Close: Close the Dynamic Report Designer dialog. d Page 35 of 53

36 8. To save your work, go to the Home ribbon and select File > Save Report. a. Then click OK to close the dialog and return to the Dynamic tab. 9. The report template will be saved under the same name it had when you opened it. If you want to make changes and give it a new name, use Copy at the bottom of the Dynamic tab. 10. To copy an existing dynamic report template to serve as the basis for a new one, with a different name, select the report and click Copy. a. A dialog appears where so you can provide a new report name. 11. Once you click OK, the Dynamic Report Designer screen appears. 12. Once you re finished with the Dynamic Report Designer, click Close. The name of the new dynamic report will appear under the Existing Report Templates pane. 13. To delete an existing dynamic report template, select it from the Existing Report Templates pane and click the Delete button. The report name will no longer appear under the Existing Report Templates pane. Lesson on Creating a Dynamic Report Below are the basic starting steps to creating a dynamic report. We recommend that you start with using the wizard and walking through the process for the first couple of times before moving on to advanced reporting techniques. 1. In the Work Order Menu, select Find / Manage / Report, On the Filter tab enter criteria to narrow down your data selection set and click the Apply Filter button. 2. Once the work orders have been selected. Click on the Reports tab and the Dynamic button. Click on the New button to begin creating your report. Page 36 of 53

37 The New Dynamic Report window will display. 3. A Report Name must be entered in order to proceed with the creation of your report. Keep the User Selection Set as Associated to keep it associated with the filter. Not associated will not use the filtered results and will need to contain a filter in the report. In the Work Order Data Source section, click on all of the Work order areas you want included in the report. If you do not select a data source, you will not have access to the data from that table or area. Click on the OK button. 4. The Wizard will display after loading and be sure the Standard Report is selected then click on the OK button. The Data Source option will display. 5. Select the database to be the core source of data for your report. Then click on the Next button. Page 37 of 53

38 6. The Select Columns options will display. Check each field you would like included in your report. Then click on the Next button. Page 38 of 53

39 7. The Column Order section will display along with all the fields you selected previously. Use the Up and Down arrows on the right side of the window to arrange the fields in the order that you would like. This step here will save you a lot of time. They can be arranged once the report is rendered but it takes more time and effort. Page 39 of 53

40 8. The next part of the wizard, is the Sort section. If you would like the data sorted in a particular order, set the sort here. Click on the Add Sort button. In the Field Box [No Sorting] dropdown, click the arrow to the right. Then double click on the field. Note: You may need to open a table to see the fields. You can select Ascending or Descending. Then click the Next button. 9. The Filter Button is the section that would allow you to bypass doing a filter query before running the report. This is optional. To add a filter, click on the Add Filter button. The Dynamic Report is a little different in the setup. There is an option to do Value or Expression. If you wanted this report to only use one set filter, use the Value option for Field Is. Data Type indicates what type of field it is. The Column field is where you select the table and field to condition against. You can then set the condition and the literal value. Click on Next to move to the next section. Page 40 of 53

41 10. If you would like to create a grouped report, the Groups section will allow you to identify which field or fields to create a group band. In our example, we will click on the WorkOrders.AssignedToName field. Notice that it moved it to the top and selected it. You can have more than one grouping. The hierarchy does matter in the way the report will be formatted. The top one will be the outer or higher-level grouping. 11. Click on the Next button to move to the Totals section. Page 41 of 53

You can have multiple summary fields. Once completed, click on the Next button. 13.

42 12. The Totals section is the next part of the wizard. In this section, identify any field you would like summarized. You can select several summary options. The pulldown list will display the options relative to the field type. You can have multiple summary fields. Once completed, click on the Next button. 13. The Theme section gives you an option to select a pre-defined template for background color and look as well as data row distinction. Select one of the themes or none and click on the Next button. Page 42 of 53

43 14. The final section is the Layout. In this area, you can change the orientation of the report and whether you use the regular data layout or a table structure look and feel. The other items should be unchanged. Use the defaults. Click on the Finish button and the system will generate the report and display in Design mode. Page 43 of 53

Additional Note: The Access button at the bottom will allow you to set permissions to an individual or

44 15. Click on the Save Report button and then you can preview by clicking on the Preview tab or close and run the report. 16. Additional Note: The Access button at the bottom will allow you to set permissions to an individual or role. It works like the Traditional report access option. Click on the Users or Roles on the left and click on the Right Arrow button to move them to the right and give them access. Page 44 of 53

45 Training Notes Page 45 of 53

Setting Up Data Sources and Building Relationships VUEWorks Dynamic Reports is a powerful report writing tool and uses Stimulsoft, using common SQL language.

On the right side is the property area and several tools.

46 Setting Up Data Sources and Building Relationships VUEWorks Dynamic Reports is a powerful report writing tool and uses Stimulsoft, using common SQL language. Below are a few key steps to setting up some exciting reports with complete flexibility. New Data Sources From the Dynamic Report Designer, a data source can be added to the report. On the right side is the property area and several tools. This area includes properties for the selected control on the report form, a Dictionary for defining data sources, relationships, variables and other functions. The other tab, Report Tree, allows you to manage the report components, including multiple pages, report bands and controls. This diplay is from a heterocercal perspective. 1. Click on the Dictionary tab in the right area. 2. Click on the Plus + button next to the Data Source. 3. The Data Source will display for VUEWorksDB. Right Click on the data source. A menu will display. Click on the New Connection option from the menu. A Select Type of Data dialogue box will display. Select your data source. (VUEWorks tables/views are SQL Connection.) The New Data Source window will display. 4. Keep the Name in Source as VUEWorksDB. 5. Enter a Name and Alias. They can be the same or different, but have no spaces in the name. 6. In the Query Text, enter the SQL code to select records from the data source. Below is an example of the code to select all from the Activity Description Detail for TM Trouble Ticket. select * from reports.workorderform_tmtroubleticketform Page 46 of 53

To test the statement and ensure you have the right information for the data source, click on the icon. The Columns list on the left will expand and show the fields for the data source.

Below are the steps to do so. 1. Click on the Dictionary tab in the right area. 2. Click on the Plus + button next to the Data Source. 3. The Data Source will display for VUEWorksDB.

47 To test the statement and ensure you have the right information for the data source, click on the icon. The Columns list on the left will expand and show the fields for the data source. This validates that the statement has no errors and the source was found. Creating Data Source Relationships Once you add data sources, you may need to build a relationship with those sources. Below are the steps to do so. 1. Click on the Dictionary tab in the right area. 2. Click on the Plus + button next to the Data Source. 3. The Data Source will display for VUEWorksDB. Right Click on the data source. A menu will display. Click on the New Relation option from the menu. The New Relation window will display. 4. Enter the Name in Source, Name and Alias. They can all be named the same. There can be no spaces in the name. 5. Select the Parent Data Source from the drop-down list. Note: The Parent must be the Child and the Child is the Parent. It is worded the opposite on the dialogue box. 6. Select the Child Data Source from the drop-down list. 7. Next identify the common field between the two data sources and highlight them for each and click on the Right Arrow button to add it to the list on the left. 8. Click on the OK button to save and close the dialogue box. Page 47 of 53

48 Setting up Filter Prompts VUEWorks reports can be created to use the Find/Manage/Report filter feature to narrow down the records before printing. There is the ability to actually filter in the report. One option is to do a hard code filter and enter exact values. Another method is to create a dynamic filter that will prompt when the report is previewed. Below is a series of steps to generate a filter prompt. Set up Pick Lists When working with Dynamic Reports, a pick list is a solution. These pick lists can be used when setting up variables. There are multiple ways to populate a picklist - it kind of depends on where the data is coming from. Below is an example. Often there is a request to generate a report based on a specific department, region, area, reporting period, etc. One way to do this is by creating a datasource with uniquevalues. If you needed a unique list of employee names, the query string for the datasource would be something like... Select distinct(fullname) AS EmployeeName from reports.personnel WHERE FullName is NOT NULL AND FullName!= '' Once the datasource has been created, you would create a new variable and set it up as depicted in the attached screenshot. Page 48 of 53

49 Creating the Filter on the Report There are many ways to filter data for a report, one of which is by setting up a filter on a report Data Band. If you right-click on a databand and choose design, and click the Filter option on the right-hand side of the data dialog that gets displayed, you are presented with the ability to add one or more filters. The image below depicts a filter that will only display information that has a Record Date greater than or equal to a date chosen by an end-user. The date chosen by the end-user is stored in a variable called PayPeriodStart. The PayPeriodStart variable is setup in the next image. right-click To create a new variable, right-click anywhere in the Dictionary view (on the right side of the report designer) and choose new variable as shown in the next two-images. Page 49 of 53

50 The next two images show how to setup two date variables if you need to have a date range filter in your report. Once these two variables have been created, you can add a filter to a report DataBand using an expression similar to the following. reports.workorder.begindate >= varstart && reports.workorders.enddate <= varend. The two & in the expression mean AND Page 50 of 53

51 If you have a picklist as part of your report and you need to display choices from the picklist in the report header (or elsewhere), you can create a second variable to format the picklist choices as a list of strings. The first screenshot here shows the definition of a picklist and the second screenshot shows the variable used to format the picklist choices. The full expression to format the picklist is (vardept.count == 0? "(' ')" : "(" + vardept.toquerystring("'") + ")") If nothing is chosen from the picklist, the expression will give you an empty string. If one or more items are chosen from the picklist, the expressison will give you a list of your choices surrounded by single-quotes ie Dept1, Dept2 and so on. The third image below show pick list choices being shown in the report header. Page 51 of 53

52 Some Common SQL Codes Display just the month for the Begin Date {Month(WorkOrders.BeginDate)} Display the Date Difference (amount of time from the End Date and the Begin Date {DateDiff(reports_WorkOrders.EndDate,reports_WorkOrders.BeginDate)} Using the if then else statement for choosing to use different fields to create a date difference. {IIF(WorkOrders.ActivityDescriptionID==271,DateDiff(WorkOrders.LoggedDate,WorkOrders.EndDate), DateDiff(WorkOrders.BeginDate,WorkOrders.EndDate))} SQL for Database Views select name from sys.views ORDER BY name SQL for WorkOrderForm Views select name from sys.views WHERE name like 'WorkOrderForm%' ORDER BY name Additional Resources For additional information, access the VUEWorks Customer Support Portal. It contains frequently asked questions, documentation, videos, and community forums. Stimulsoft Documentation The Getting Started section has step-by-step tutorials and links to videos (no sound though) Demo Site This is a live-demo site where you can click the edit button in the upper right of the designer to see how the various reports were put together. Page 52 of 53

53 Training Notes Page 53 of 53

Objective 1: Familiarize yourself with basic database terms and definitions. Objective 2: Familiarize yourself with the Access environment.

Beginning Access 2007 Objective 1: Familiarize yourself with basic database terms and definitions. What is a Database? A Database is simply defined as a collection of related groups of information. Things