Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report

5 Gould Road, PO Box 2155 New London, NH 03257 USA Voice: (603) 526-9800 info@canarysystems.com www.canarysystems.com Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Overview The Custom Report tool allows users to create a comprehensive multi-page report that can include embedded database charts with up-to-date data. This Application Note will cover the basic features of the Custom Report tool, a walkthrough for the creation of a chart aggregate report, and an overview of the Custom Report s functions in Insite and MLWeb, including configuring automated Emails. Creating a New Custom Report in the Database To begin the creation and configuration of a new Custom Report, one must first be added to the database. Open Insite and enter Design Mode. You will need certain permissions to enter design mode. Click on the icon or go to Configure Outputs to open the Configure Outputs form. (Figure 1 Configure Outputs form) Once the form is open, select your desired location in the Tree view, and click the Add button. This will bring up the Output type options. Select Custom Report. A Custom Report will be added to your selected location. Left-click slowly once to rename this report. Double-clicking will initialize the Report Designer. From here, the Custom Report can be configured. Alternatively, a Custom Report can be duplicated and moved into a different location, then reconfigured as desired. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 1

Report Designer Interface The Report Designer consists of seven main features, as shown below: (Figure 2 The Report Designer with features highlighted) Menu/Toolbar This feature provides typical functionality such as editing and formatting text. Note that the report cannot be saved from here. To save the report, close the Report Designer and save the report from within the Configure Outputs form by highlighting the report in the tree and clicking Save. Object Toolbar This feature allows the user to select and insert various object types such as pictures, text and database charts. Page Tabs Switch between different pages in the report by clicking on the desired tab. The order of the report s pages depends on the order of these tabs. Drag them to a new location to change the order of the report. Object Inspector This feature shows the properties and provides configuration options for the selected object or page. Report Tree This feature shows how the pages and objects are arranged in the report. Report Design Workspace This feature displays the currently selected page in the report, and allows editing of that page and its associated objects. Data Tree Allows the user to drag Data, Variable, Function or Class elements onto the report page. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 2

Basics There are a few basic functionalities to keep in mind when working with the Report Designer; text, images, charts and variables are the objects needed to configure simple reports, and most work done on the report is done by adding these objects and placing them on a page. Objects will have sliders around their object box that can be clicked and dragged on the page to resize the object, and the entire object can be clicked and dragged. One page is displayed at a time, and the Report Tree will show the objects associated with it. The Report Tree also shows the arrangement of the report. (Figure 3 A report s arrangement in the Report Tree) When an object has been added, it can be selected, either on the page or from the Report Tree, and this will bring up its properties in the Object Inspector. From here, several configuration options are available, such as name, coordinates on the page, etc. Unique configurations will be covered in each object type s section. Saving of Custom Reports is done not through the Report Designer but through the Configure Outputs form that the report was selected and opened from. Close the designer and then, with the report highlighted in the tree of the Configure Outputs form, press the Save button. To preview the report, press the GO! button on the form and the report will generate in a PDF. (Figure 4 The Save and Go buttons in the Configure Output form) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 3

Adding and Configuring Pages By default, new reports will have one page in portrait orientation upon creation. The page will display in the Report Design Workspace, and will have a grid and margin borders overlaid upon it, though these can be turned off in the Toolbar. One page is displayed at a time, and pages are selected by clicking on them from within the Report Tree or by clicking their Page Tab. Under each page in the Report Tree will be all of the objects associated with it. To add a page, click the New Report Page icon in the Toolbar. A new empty page will be added to the end of the report. To name the page, select the page and click on the Name field in the Object Inspector. As pages are added to the report, they will receive a new tab in the Pages Tab list. (Figure 5 The report s pages Page Tabs and Report Tree) To move a page to a new location within the report, drag its Page Tab to the desired location. To change the page orientation, click the Orientation field in the Object Inspector and chose poportrait or polandscape from the drop-down. It is recommended to use the landscape orientation for pages that contain charts, as it will allow the charts to be larger. (Figure 6 A landscape orientation chart in a Custom Report in MLWeb) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 4

Adding and Configuring Images To add an image to the report, click the icon in the Object Toolbar. You will now be able to place a picture object onto the page. When you do, a prompt will appear, from which you can browse for an image by clicking the folder icon. Once an image has been selected, click the green check button to add the image to the page. (Figure 7 Image prompt) You will see that a picture has been added in the Report Tree, and that the image now appears on the page. The image can be selected and moved around the page and resized manually. It can also be moved and resized by selecting it and typing coordinates in the Height, Left, Top, and Width fields in the Object Inspector. The Report Tree is also where the image can be named. Adding and Configuring Text To add text to a report, a text box is needed. Click the icon in the Object Toolbar and place the text box onto the report. A prompt will appear where the text can be typed. Click OK once the text has been typed. (Figure 8 Text box prompt) You will see that a text box has been added to the page in the Report Tree as a Memo. It can now be selected and resized or moved around the page with the mouse, or by editing its coordinates in the Object Inspector. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 5

To edit the text after the initial dialog has been closed, you must reopen the dialog. This can be done by double-clicking the text box on the page, or by selecting the text box and clicking on the Memo field in the Object Inspector, then clicking the ellipsis button that appears. This will reopen the dialog. To format the text, select the text box and then use the text formatting option in the Toolbar along the top of the Report Designer to apply formatting. Adding and Configuring Variables Variables can be added to the report that will automatically generate with the appropriate information when the report is generated from Insite or MLWeb. An example is the Date Variable. You will add the variable to the page and when the report is generated, the day s date will automatically be filled in. Several variables are pre-configured. To add a variable, click the icon in the Object Toolbar and place it on the page like you would a text box. A prompt will appear with System variable already chosen. Select from the drop-down your chosen variable. It will populate on the page and will be added to the page in the Report Tree as a SysMemo. (Figure 9 Variable prompt with drop-down menu) The variable is configured from the Object Inspector, and formatted with the Toolbar at the top of the designer like text. (Figure 10 A date variable on a page) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 6

Adding and Configuring Charts Charts that have been configured within the database using Insite or MLWeb can be added to the report, and will populate when the report is run with the appropriate data and along the time range that is set at generation. See Figure 6 for an example of a chart added to a Custom Report. To add a chart, select the icon from the Object Toolbar like you would when adding an image. The prompt will appear. Do not select an image, simply click the green check. The prompt will close and an empty picture object will appear on the page. With the picture object selected, find the DataSet field in the Object Inspector and click. A drop-down will appear. Select ChartList. Next, click the DataField field directly above the DataSet field and click the ellipsis button that appears. A prompt will open that will allow browsing to a database chart. Once one is selected, click Accept. (Figure 12 The Database Tree used for chart selection) The chart will now appear in the Report Tree as a picture and on the page as an empty picture object. It can be resized and renamed. Note that the chart will not populate on the page until the report is generated or previewed. Also note that it is recommended to have landscape orientation for pages with charts, as it better matches the shape of most charts. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 7

Chart Aggregate Walkthrough/Example The following example will provide instruction on how to create a multi-page chart aggregate report that contains pictures, text, variables and database charts. It will consist of a cover page, second page with a background image, and following pages containing charts. Begin by opening Insite, entering Design Mode and opening the Configure Outputs form. Add a new Custom Report in the database and give it a title. Once it has been added, open the Report Designer. Cover Page The new report will already have one page in portrait orientation. This page can be used as a cover page for the report. First, give the page a name so that it can differentiated from the other pages. With the page selected in the Report Tree, click on the Name field of the Object Inspector and type in a name. Note that spaces and special characters cannot be used. Press the <ENTER> key to complete the name change. Next, add a logo to the page. Click on the icon in the Object Toolbar and place a picture object on the page. When the prompt appears, like the one shown in Figure 7, click the folder icon to browse for a saved logo image. Click the green check button to use the image. (Figure 13 Report cover page with logo added) Once the logo is added to the page, resize and position it as you desire by dragging or by editing the coordinates in the Object Inspector. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 8

Next, add a description of the report. Click the icon in the Object Toolbar and place a text box below the logo. Enter a description of the report in the prompt and click OK. Resize and reposition the text box as desired. Reformat the text with the Toolbar at the top of the designer. In the example in Figure 14, the text is size 20, bold, and has been centered within the text box. (Figure 14 Report cover page with text formatting options highlighted) Next, add a date to the page. This can be done in two parts; a text box with the text Report Date: and a Date Variable that will generate the date when the report is opened. Begin by adding another text box, as before, beneath the report description text box. Type Report Date: and position the text box so that the Date Variable can be added next to it. Next, click the icon in the Object Toolbar and add a variable to the report to the right of the text box. A prompt will appear: select [DATE] from the System variable drop-down menu. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 9

(Figure 15 [DATE] selected in the System variable drop-down menu) Position the variable box so that it is in line with the text box. Blue lines may appear to assist in alignment. If desired, this step can be repeated with the Time Variable. (Figure 16 Report cover page with variable added) When this cover page is completed, it can be previewed by clicking File Preview. The cover page will be generated in a window, as shown in Figure 17. The date and time formats will not be configurable here, however they can be configured from the Configure Outputs form or from MLWeb when the report is opened from those locations. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 10

(Figure 17 Report Designer preview of report cover page) Report Second Page A second page can be added to the report to provide further information before addition of charts. For this example, a background image will be added to show the status of a group of instruments. (Figure 18 Preview showing report with background image on second page) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 11

Begin by adding a new page. Click the New Report Page icon in the Toolbar. A new blank page will be added. Note that the page will receive its own Page Tab, as shown in Figure 19. Click the Name field in the Object Inspector to give the page a name. Because a large landscape orientation image is going to be added, this page will also be given landscape orientation. Click the Orientation field in the Object Inspector and select polandscape from the dropdown menu. (Figure 19 Second report page added, named and oriented) Next, an image can be added. Add an image to the page as before. Alternatively, text can be added, or any combination of objects can be added as required for the particular report being created, or this page can be skipped entirely. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 12

Chart Pages Custom Reports can have database charts embedded in them that will generate when the report is opened from MLWeb or Insite. The user will select the date range for the data used in the chart when the chart is opened. (Figure 20 Preview showing report with charts) Repeat the new page creation steps from the Report Second Page directions, adding a new page, naming it and giving it a landscape orientation. To add a chart, click the icon and add it to the page like you would an image. However, when the prompt appears, do not select an image. Instead, click the green check button. The prompt will close and an empty picture object will be added to the report. With the new picture object selected, it can be configured to display a chart from its Object Inspector. First, the chart will be sized and positioned to best fit the page. In the Object Inspector, set the Height field to 19.40, the Left and Top fields to 0.10 and the Width field to 25.70, as shown in Figure 21. This will fit the chart to cover the entire page within the margins. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 13

(Figure 21 Chart dimensions in Object Inspector) Next, the database chart must be selected. From within the Object Inspector, select the DataSet field and choose ChartList from the drop-down menu. Then, select the DataField field and click the ellipsis button. A prompt will appear with the Database Tree, from which a chart can be browsed to and selected. (Figure 22 Report page with chart added, DataSet and DataField fields highlighted) The chart will not populate in the page at this time. When the report is opened from within MLWeb or Insite the chart will generate with the data from the time range selected within MLWeb or Insite. These steps can now be repeated as necessary. Close the Report Designer and save when ready. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 14

Viewing Custom Reports in MLWeb and Insite MLWeb When a Custom Report has been added to the database, it will become available in MLWeb under its Group within the Database Tree. In the example in Figure 23, the Custom Report is under the Reports Group in the database. (Figure 23 Custom Report in MLWeb) Clicking the report will open it in a panel. Open the Selection Criteria Side Panel at the top of the Custom Report panel to view the Selection Criteria. From here, the date range used for the report can be selected. (Figure 24 Custom Report Selection Criteria Side Panel in MLWeb) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 15

Use the Configuration Side Panel to configure the formatting of any Date and Time Variables, and apply that formatting to embedded charts. (Figure 25 Custom Report Configuration Side Panel in MLWeb) Click the button the preview any changes made. Click the button to save the changes so that the report will always use the chosen configuration when opened in MLWeb. Click the button to save the report as a PDF. Click the button to revert changes. Click the button to email the report. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 16

Insite Custom Reports in the database can be found in Insite by entering Design Mode and opening the Configure Output form. Once the Configure Outputs form is open, the Custom Report can be browsed to in the tree view and selected. On the right side of the Configure Outputs form, the configuration options are available. The Selection Criteria allow the user to select the date range used for the report. The Options tab allows the user to configure the formatting of any Date and Time Variables, and apply that formatting to embedded charts. (Figure 26 The Configure Outputs form in Insite with Selection Criteria Options tab and Save and GO! buttons highlighted) Click the Save button to save any changes made so that they will apply to the report whenever it is opened. Click the GO! button to view the report. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 17

Automating Email Notifications Custom Reports can be emailed to users automatically. This can be set up in MLWeb and Insite. The steps for both options will be covered in the following sections. MLWeb Open the Notification Options found underneath the Administration node in the Database Tree. This will open the Notification Options panel. (Figure 27 Notification Options panel in MLWeb) Once the Notification Options panel is open, click on the Outputs tab. To create an Email notification for the Custom Report, click the button. This will add a new notification to the list. (Figure 28 Notification Options panel Outputs tab in MLWeb) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 18

You will notice that the Outputs tab has many columns, as shown in Figure 28. They are explained as follows: Active If this box is checked, the notification is active and running. Group The Group associated with the Output. Source The source of the notification, in this case it is the Custom Report. Interval The time interval that will be used when generating the notification. If a day is chosen, the notification will be sent every 24 hours. If a week is chosen the notification will be sent every seven days. Day When the Interval is set as Week or Month, the Day field allows the user to select which day the notification will be sent out. Offset Hours When Day, Week or Month are selected as the interval, the Offset Hours field will allow the user to apply an offset to the Interval selected by a number of hours. For example, if a Week is set as the Interval and Sunday is set as the Day, when the Offset Hours is set to 6, then the notification will be sent every Sunday at 6:00 AM. Offset Minutes Much like the Offset Hours field, the Offset Minutes field can be used to apply an offset to the Interval by a number of minutes. Action The type of action that this notification is doing. To If the Action field is set to Email, the To field can be filled by selecting database users from the dropdown. Their Email addresses will then be added to the list of recipients for the notification. Email addresses can also be manually entered, and separated by commas or semicolons. Subject Set the subject of the Email that will be sent to the selected recipients. Once the notification has been added to the Outputs tab, drag the report from the Tree to the Source field. Then, drag the report s Group to the Group field. Once the Custom Report and its Group are dragged to the Source and Group fields, respectively, select your Interval, Day, Offset Hours and Offset Minutes. Then, select Email from the Action field s drop-down menu. Add the desired Email addresses to the To field and add the desired Email subject line to the Subject field. Click to save. The Custom Report will now be automatically sent in an Email at the designated time to the designated recipients. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 19

Insite Click on Notification Options found under Configurations Notifications, as shown in Figure 29. (Figure 29 Location of Notification Options panel in Insite) This will open the Notification Options panel. Once the Notification Options panel is open, click on the Outputs tab. To create an Email notification for the Custom Report, click the button. This will add a new notification to the list. (Figure 30 Notification Options panel Outputs tab in Insite) Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 20

You will notice that the Outputs tab has many columns, as shown in Figure 30. They are explained as follows: Active If this box is checked, the notification is active and running. Group The Group associated with the Output. Source The source of the notification, in this case it is the Custom Report. Interval The time interval that will be used when generating the notification. If a day is chosen, the notification will be sent every 24 hours. If a week is chosen the notification will be sent every seven days. Day When the Interval is set as Week or Month, the Day field allows the user to select which day the notification will be sent to go out. Offset Hours When Day, Week or Month are selected as the interval, the Hour field will allow the user to apply an offset to the Interval selected by a number of hours. For example, if a Week is set as the Interval and Sunday is set as the day, when the Offset Hours is set to 6, then the notification will be sent every Sunday at 6:00 AM. Offset Minutes Much like the Offset Hours field, the Offset Minutes field can be used to apply an offset to the Interval by a number of minutes. Action The type of action that this notification is doing. To If the Action field is set to Email, the To field can be filled by selecting database users from the dropdown. Their Email addresses will then be added to the list of recipients for the notification. Email addresses can also be manually entered, and separated by commas or semicolons. Subject Set the subject of the Email that will be sent to the selected recipients. Once the notification has been added, click on the Source field and select the report from the drop-down menu. Do the same for the report s Group. Next, select your Interval, Day, Offset Hours and Offset Minutes. Then, select Email from the Action field s drop-down menu. Add the desired Email addresses to the To field and add the desired Email subject line to the Subject field. Click Accept to save. The Custom Report will now be sent in an Email at the designated time to the designated recipients. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 21

Additional Information There are many additional features of Custom Report not covered in this Application Note. For more information on these features, refer to Section 5.11 Custom Report of the Insite Software User s Guide, or visit http://www.fast-report.com for details on the FastReport software used in Custom Report. For more information on notifications, chart creation and viewing reports, refer to the Insite Software User s Guide or the MLWeb Software User s Guide. FastReport is a registered trademark of Fast Reports, Inc. MLWeb is a registered trademark of Canary Systems, Inc. Preparing Chart Aggregations with Custom Report Page 22