Managed Reporting Environment
WebFOCUS – MANAGED REPORTING
What is MRE and what does it mean for FLAIR users?
MRE extends services to agencies giving them secure, self-service Web access to
information they need when they need it.
MRE enables even novice users the ability to run structured reports and create ad
hoc reports. End users are quickly set up and able to perform reporting queries
quickly without extensive training.
MRE end-users can use reporting objects to facilitate the creation of these ad hoc
reports and apply styling to them if need be.
In essence, departmental agencies working within MRE query FLAIR data and are
able to analyze data anytime they wish to - without the need to learn programming in
Natural as they did in the past.
MRE provides an integrated, scalable, true thin-client reporting environment for
state-wide business intelligence and information delivery of FLAIR data. It shields
end users from data complexities and provides secure access to personalized and
specialized information. Users can run reports or create ad hoc reports with broad,
dynamic access to nearly all FLAIR data for the State of Florida.
MRE is a role based reporting environment. Once users have identified themselves,
MRE automatically tailors the user interface, report content, and functional
privileges based on how their RACF UserIDs have been defined by the Warehouse
group Administrators.
RACF IDs are created by the FLAIR Helpdesk via request and MRE Administrators
use these IDs to create MRE profiles.
The Warehouse group Administrators sets up all user accounts, all reporting
domains, and user groups with security to control what reports, what data, and what
domains each user may access. Administrators may later modify these domains
and user properties and associations if they need to be changed.
The Warehouse group Administrators also are in charge of maintenance of the many
tables that comprise the FLAIR data and their field structure. Every night the tables
are updated with the latest FLAIR data allowing for reporting data to be the most up
to date information possible.
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The Use of Roles in MRE
There are four types of roles that are established to work within the MRE environment –
Administrator, Developer, Analytical User and User.
Administrator (Warehouse Group)
• Creates and manages user accounts and WebFOCUS environments
• Creates Domains for each agency
• Manages user access, rights and privileges to the MRE repository
Developer (Used to be known as Domain Administrator)
• Creates and manages Domain content for end users (cannot create Domains)
• Develops Standard Reports for end users within his Domain
• Creates Reporting Objects (these are controlled views of data sources)
Analytical User (Used to be known as a Power User)
•
•
•
•
Can access Reporting Tools such as the Report Assistant and Graph Assistant
Can create and save personal reports using Reporting Objects created by the Developer
Can run Standard Reports defined by the Developer in the Domains
Can edit code and create JOINS with the Advanced Privilege enabled.
User (Used to be known as an HTML User)
• Can run Standard Reports defined in the Domains
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MRE - Managed Reporter
Upon signing on to MRE you are in the Managed Reporter.
There are 3 components that comprise the Managed Reporter:
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2
3
1. The Menu Bar
2. Managed Reporter Toolbar
3. Repository
Contains the global buttons for accessing
Domains, WebFOCUS online help, and Logoff
Contains buttons for managing and working on
the repository and its components.
Contains the domain(s) granted to you by the
Warehouse Group, usually one domain per
agency.
The Menu Bar
Each tab shown is dependent on what Role you have been assigned by your
Administrator. If you see the Domain Builder tab, you have been granted Developer
rights. If you don’t see this tab, then you have been assigned as an Analytical User
and any role below.
The Repository
.
The Repository comprises the domain from which you will be reporting.
This illustration shows several domains, among them Education.
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The Managed Reporter Toolbar
New
Allows you to create a new report in your My Reports tab
Open
Report Assistant
Displays the contents of the selected folder. If a report is highlighted,
the report will open in Report Assistant
Advanced Analytical Users may edit reports created as Custom
Reports
Access the Report Assistant
Graph Assistant
Access the Graph Assistant
Filter
Selects Filters if any have been created as a Reporting Object
Save as My
Report
Search
If a report has been shared, then it may be saved into your My Report
tab.
Allows you to search for any character string within the domain
Refresh
Displays the most recent content of a domain
Run
Executes the selected report (query) to run immediately
Run Deferred
Report Caster
Submits the report for processing to a server queue. This allows you
to keep working rather than waiting for the output to be returned to your
browser for viewing.
Access the Deferred Status Interface where you can check on the
reports you sent to Run Deferred
Schedules your my Reports for Distribution
Cut
Removes the selected object and saves the object in memory.
Copy
Saves a copy of the selected object in memory.
Delete
Removes a selected report from the My Reports tab.
Paste
Adds an object that was previously cut or copied.
Properties
Displays the properties of your reports.
Help
Displays the WebFOCUS online help.
Edit
Deferred Status
**The icons on this toolbar might be grayed out during your session and do so
because they are dependent on the action you doing. Also some icons display only
when in the Domain Builder Tab as a Developer or when you are in the Domains tab
as an Analytical User.
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Understanding Domains
A repository is made up of domains, which are built by the Warehouse Group for
each agency.
A domain is a used to organize reporting procedures into logical sensible categories
or environments that are easy for user groups to understand without the need to
know how to code in a programming language.
The Warehouse Group grants access to these domains to agency users based on
their particular reporting needs.
To begin working in Managed Reporting, the first thing you need to do is open a
Domain. This enables you to access the data needed for your particular reporting
purposes.
When you open a Domain, there are four tabs displayed in the right panel.
TABS
Standard Reports
My Reports
Shared Reports
Reporting Objects
Defined
Contains reports that are created for end users to run without
modification
Contains and end user’s personal reports
Contains an agency’s reports that are shared in their domain
Contains “streamlined” views of the data created for end users to
build their own custom reports
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The Standard Reports Tab
The Standard Reports tab contains reports and any graphs that have been created
for you, by your administrator, to run without modification.
With in the Standard tab, your “DEVELOPER” can organize the content via the use
of folders called Standard Report Groups.
In the example below, the Standard Report Group is called EXPENDITURE
REPORTS.
To open this Group:
1. Double-click on the plus sign ( ) next to the folder or
2. Click once on the folder to select and then click the OPEN icon (
toolbar, or
3. Right click on the folder, and click on OPEN from the menu
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) on the
Run a Simple Standard Report
To Run a Standard Report, you have to be in the Standard Reports tab within a
Standard Report Group.
The example seen here shows a Standard report called TRNHIST within the Standard
Report Group called EXPENDITURE REPORTS.
To run this report, right-click the report to select it, and a menu will pop up with
several options. Alternatively, you can also click on the
run the report.
Menu Selection
Refresh
Run
Run Deferred
Properties
icon on the Toolbar to
Defined
Reloads the Standard Report
The report is executed immediately while the user waits for the
output to be generated via the web browser in a new window
The report is submitted for processing in the background by the
user, while the user continues to work on other tasks.
The user can view the output at a later time by using the Deferred
Status icon on the toolbar
View the reports properties
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Submitting a Report to Run Deferred
Deferring a report is a feature that enables you to submit a report that processes in
the background while you are in the Managed Reporting environment. Once you
have submitted the report, you can use the Deferred Status Interface to view the
report at a later time without having to wait for it to run to completion.
What are the benefits of Running Reports Deferred?
Deferred Receipt allows for overall increased productivity and efficiency. Users
don’t have to wait for a report to process and the output to return to their browser
before continuing to work. They can await the results and access, view, save or
delete the results of their submitted report at a later time. The utility of this function
is especially useful when running reports against large sets of data or run reports
that take a long time to process.
To run a Standard Report to run Deferred
As an example, let’s run the TRHIST report as a deferred report.
We must be in the Domains tab, in Standard Reports. Right-click on the report you
wish to run deferred and a menu will appear as shown below:
Click on the Run Deferred selection.
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What you will see next is a notification that the report has been submitted for
deferred execution. This shows you that the deferred report was submitted and
what time and date this action was performed.
Click on the red
to close this dialog box and you are returned back to the
Managed Reporting interface.
To view any reports that have been deferred click on the Deferred Status icon
the toolbar.
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on
The Deferred Status Interface
Deferred status has its own interface, known as the Deferred Status Interface. It
allows you to access detailed information regarding the status of a deferred report
at any time.
Viewing the Report we just ran deferred, we can see that the report completed and is
available for review:
Let’s take a look at some of the information we are looking at here.
The report will show as one of four categories:
Report Category
Completed
Running
Queued
Unknown
Defined
This shows that the Deferred Receipt request has finished
processing
A report that is running means the report is currently
processing and needs more time
Reports that are queued means it’s next in line to process
This is a report where the Deferred request cannot be
identified. This can occur when the behind the scenes
software is stopped while a report is processing or the file
containing the deferred report can’t be found
Also, notice the Expires In column. The Warehouse Group sets how long a report
will be available for viewing within the Deferred Status Interface. In this example,
this report will remain online for another 29 more days. You could also Save the
report as a static offering if you choose to do so and keep the report as a
“snapshot” in time report.
On the right hand side of the Deferred interface display, you will a series of Options.
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Option
Delete
When Available
For all report Categories
View
Completed Processing
Save
Completed Processing
Parameters
Completed Processing or
Queued to be Processed
Defined
Removes report from Deferred Status
Displays report for viewing in browser
If report is for a specific application such
as Excel, the user will be prompted to open
the application
Saves the Report to a new group folder
under the My Reports tab called Deferred
Reports Output
Allows a user to review or even change
report parameters if any. The original
Report remains intact.
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Other features of the Deferred Status Interface
Feature
Refresh
Sort By
Delete All
Help
Defined
Click on Refresh to obtain the most current status of the Deferred
Receipt requests. You can also specify MRE to refresh automatically
in whatever time interval you set. Just make sure that you place a
check to Enable Refresh for this to work. It defaults to 5 seconds.
The Sort Value and Sort Order can be changed. Change any of these
items, then click on the refresh icon to see the sort effect
Drop Down arrow reveals you can delete all the reports in the
Deferred Status interface that have expired or are unknown
Brings up the online help facility for the Deferred Status Interface
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Reporting Objects
Users use Reporting Objects that have been set up Administrators and Developers
to create ad hoc reports of their own. These differ from Standard Reports in that
these custom reports can be modified within MRE. Reporting Objects are used so
that Developers can help to minimize the data returned and or to standardize the
way reports look via a template as perhaps a suggested formatting.
A Developer can create a reporting object that limits the data for end users. Since
MRE contains all the data for all agencies, one of the main reporting objects would
be to limit the data available for agency end users. The goal would be to limit the
data specific to his or her agency, i.e., OLO = 430000 or L1 = 43 (specific to DFS) so
that end users would not retrieve data non-pertinent to their data queries. In
essence, users would have pre-defined data source views to create their own
reports.
In the example above, we are in the Reporting Objects tab, and four reporting
objects are available here for an end user to use in the creation of their own reports.
These 4 reporting objects relate to 4 different tables in MRE and are named
accordingly.
All you need to do in order to use the Reporting Object would be to select it, and
right-click. This would open a Context menu. Click on the Report Assistant item
and you are ready to begin use of the pre-defined Reporting Object for your new
report.
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Report Assistant is an HTML-based graphical tool that enables you to select a data
source, specify any sorting or grouping information, and display the report in your
browser or another desktop application such as Excel.
When you use Report Assistant, it creates a styled report that you can deploy on the
Web without the necessity of learning the complexities of any reporting language.
And since it’s graphical in nature, it’s very simple to use. All the programming is
done behind the scenes.
Report Assistant is accessible:
•
•
•
•
During the creation of a new Standard Report.
When a report is selected during the creation of a Reporting Object.
When editing a Reporting Object within Domains.
When editing a My Report within Domains.
To Create a Standard Report Using the Report Assistant: (DEVELOPER)
From any Standard Report Group > Select New Standard Report > Report Assistant.
The New Standard Report dialog box will appear.
Name the report.
Clicking on File will open up a browse
box allowing selection of a master file
from all available data sources.
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The Browse data dialog box
Use the Scroll bar to
browse the data
sources, then click on
the OK button.
You are now in the Report Assistant.
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The Report Assistant Interface
Report Assistant builds your report as you select graphical options by internally constructing a
procedure according to the rules of the WebFOCUS reporting language.
The Report Assistant is divided into these sections or “TABS”:
• Field selection
• Report headings
• Selection criteria
• Join options
• Report options
Each tab contains explanatory text designed to guide you on using the specific features accessed
within the tab. Each tab contains a set of options that enable you to customize both the content and
appearance of your report. To toggle between tabs, simply select each tab at the top of the window.
Right now you are viewing the Field Selection panel.
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The Button Panel
Above the tabs there are buttons that can be used to Save your Report, Run your Report, or Quit the
Report Assistant.
Three of the buttons have drop down menus
described below.
which have the following menu options available
1. Click Save to save your report.
Save
Save As
2. Click Save As to open the Save New Report
dialog box.
1. Click run to run your report.
Run
Run Deferred
Help
About
Quit
2. Click run deferred to run your report at a later
time
1. Click the icon to access help about the area of the
tab in which you are working.
2. Click About to open a window describing the
version of Report Assistant in which you are
working.
1. Click to quit the application
Availability of tabs and buttons depends on the “type” of user you are when you log on to MRE and
permissions given to you by the Warehouse Group or Developer.
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What to Consider When Building a Report
The most basic report you can construct in MRE is a tabular report and the other
reports available in MRE build on the basic design of this report.
A tabular report is a report whose information is arranged vertically in columns like
an Excel spreadsheet.
Internally, MRE constructs your report with a series of simple commands that
identifies the master table you are working with, takes the fields you select to be
included in the report and pulls data only in regards to any selection criteria you
define giving you a subset of the data available in the source table.
Basic steps to consider in constructing your report:
1. Design your presentation.
How would you like to organize the information in your report? What fields from the
table do you wish to include in your report? How do you want the data sorted?
2. Identify the information you would like to present.
Is it a full data set, or do you want to construct a subset of some larger set?
What criteria will you employ to answer your query?
3. Style your presentation.
Do you want to apply customized headings or footings to your report to make it
more dynamic?
**Styling information is not necessary to produce a valid report request**
The following will be a short description of a few of the “tabs” that are used most
often in Report Assistant to create ad hoc reports.
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The Field Selection Tab
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3
2
1
You use the Field Selection tab to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the fields to be used in the report (selected from the Fields List)
Control the order of the data for the report (Sort)
Specify summary or detail information
Select totaling options (optional)
To choose fields, click and drag them from the Available Fields list on the left and
drag them into the column on the right as shown.
To Sort your report, double-click on the field you want to sort on, and it will appear
in the Sort by box.
Also note at the bottom of the fields list – it will show you how many fields are
available for your use in the table you have selected, in this case, 100 fields.
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The Report Headings Tab
The Report Headings tab is used to:
• Create a page Heading and / or Footing
• Style the Heading and footing.
**If the report has an assigned predefined style defined by the developer, you cannot
change it**
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The Selection Criteria Tab
When specifying Values:
1.
2.
3.
Alphanumeric fields are case sensitive
Don’t use commas and dollars signs for
numeric values
When using date constants, match the value to
the date field in the data source
The Selection Critieria tab is used to limit data selected by your query.
It does this using BOOLEAN logic.
In the example above, the writer of the query above is searching for Supplies
expenditures for fiscal year ending 2008.
The criteria (screening conditions) are defined as:
OBJ = 380000 (supplies object code)
CAT = 040000 (expense category)
FY_END = 2008 (fiscal year end)
When this report is run, the data returned will show only records that meet this
criteria requirement.
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The Report Options Tab
1
2
4
3
The Report Options tab is used to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Save a report to an output file (Excel, HTML, PDF, etc)
Specify the page numbering format
Style the entire report
Set a record or read limit (nice option to use when testing new queries)
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Field Options (from the Field Selection Tab)
Field Options are used to define the characteristics of the report columns. You
select the field that you wish to change and then click on Field Options at the
bottom right of your screen. Depending on what field you selected, the options will
be somewhat different.
For example, here’s a Display field with Field options selected:
Here’s a Sort field that has been selected with Field options:
Notice that there are more “tabs” for the Sort field than the Display field.
Fully expanded, the Field options panel allows you to:
1. Change the naming of the column titles (Title)
2. Stylize column titles, report data, and backgrounds (colors, fonts, sizes, etc)
3. Hide Fields (Make this field invisible)
4. Alter formats for column fields such as using currency for amounts (Format in report as:)
5. Change the order of sort fields (ascending or descending) (Sorting)
6. Add conditional styling to highlight specific data in a report (Conditional Styling)
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Changing the Column Title
MRE will default and take the field name directly from the Table from which the
query is built. This is a good thing in that you don’t have to name each field singly.
However, you might want to change the name to something of your own choosing.
For example: In the TRNHIST table, the field name for what is commonly known as
VOUCHER is called AGENCY_DOC_NBR. Typically, you would want to rename this
column header to the more commonly known name.
You would perform this change by
1. First selecting the field you want to rename.
2. Opening the FIELD OPTIONS panel.
3. Click on the TITLE tab.
1
2
3
You can have up to 5 lines in a column title.
To begin a new line, simply type a line and then press the ENTER key to begin a new
line. This is called “stacking”.
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Conditional Styling
You can style specific values within a report so that critical information can be
identified immediately.
For example, if you ran the TRNHIST Standard Report and wanted to immediately
see all the values that are greater than or equal to $1,000.00, you can make them
more immediately seen by making them a different color or a different font size.
This would be under FIELD OPTIONS as well.
You would perform this change by:
1. First selecting the field you want to specify conditional styling for - in this
case TRN_AMT.
2. Click to open the FIELD OPTIONS panel.
3. Click on the DISPLAY tab.
4. Click on the Conditional Styling button.
1
2
3
4
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A new dialog box will appear. Click on the magic wand icon to set the conditions you want.
Notice that some items
are grayed out at this
point?
After you have added a
condition, you will see
the plus sign, Font and
Drill Down options open
and ready for use.
Another dialog box appears:
1. Condition defaults to COND0001
3. Set the Relations:
2. Choose the field
5. Click the OK button
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4. Set the VALUE
You are returned to the previous window.
2. The PLUS sign is now open for
business. Click on the icon to set
an option on the FONT for the
records that meet the newly
defined condition.
1. Make sure your COND0001 is selected.
Two things happen:
The COND0001 appears in the
ATTACHED box and FONT and
DRILL DOWN are now functional.
4. Click on FONT
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When you click on the FONT button, you will see a more or less traditional Windows
Font selection dialog box where you can set a different font, a different font size, a
different font color, etc. You can even choose to select a background color for each
matching record and a justification in its display.
This example shows that the font has been
changed to:
ARIAL BLACK
BOLD,
14 point
Red in color with a white background, and
JUSTIFICATION is CENTERED.
Click the OK button to proceed.
Two things to see here.
Notice the WHEN statement is built for you
And the Text appears as: box shows you how
the records matching your condition will
display when the report is run.
Click the OK button to proceed.
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Now when you run the report, you will see the records matching your condition
stand out for easy review. Of course, this is an extreme example to demonstrate
conditional styling. Your font conditions will most certainly be more functional and
more elegant.
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Change the Report Output to Different Formats
MRE defaults to display your report output into a new browser window using HTML
format. However, most users would prefer to get the data out into an Excel
spreadsheet so that they can manipulate the data in a more familiar application.
Some users might also like to get the report in a PDF format which lends itself to
ease of printing and portability through email. MRE can do this easily and without
much fuss.
In the Report Assistant you can select the Report Options tab to do this,
then click on the Drop down arrow in the Generate Report as box shown here:
The selections for this drop down are available as options that support “report
styling” and the settings for any of these options are available on the left side of the
panel. These include Cascading Style Sheets, OLAP and User Accessibility
features.
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But if you “Uncheck” the SHOW STYLED FORMATS, you get a completely different
list of available formats, and the left side of the panel gets grayed out and inactive
as seen here:
1. The Show Styled Formats
is UNCHECKED
3. The selections for report
output are completely different
than before.
2. The left side of the panel
becomes inactive and grayed
out.
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On-Demand Paging Report
A type of report that is available in MRE is called an On-Demand Paging Report.
Your Developer might “enable” On-Demand paging via the Report Options tab
located at the left of the panel under Interactive options.
When a report is produced the output is sent to your browser “after” the entire
report has been created and formatted.
With On-Demand paging, the report is sent to the Web Server and is delivered one
page at a time, to your computer browser, at your request, through a navigation tool
called the WebFOCUS viewer.
You can use the convenient controls of the viewer to view desired pages and search
for character strings located in the On-Demand report.
Below is an example of an On-Demand report:
Report
Area
1. The report itself is called the Report Area.
Viewer
Control
Panel
2. The toolbar shown below the report output is called the Viewer Control Panel.
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The Viewer Control Panel
Navigation
Control
Help/Exit
Search
Control
Navigation Controls
Control
Icon
Defined
Go To Page
Displays a specific page of the report. You can
also type in what page you want, then click the
Go To Page button
All Pages
Displays all the pages in one browser window
Go to First Page
Takes you to the First Page
Go to Previous Page
Moves the report back one page
Next Page
Moves the report forward one page
Go to Last Page
Takes you to the Last Page of the report
Search Controls
Control
Icon
Defined
Enter the character string you are
searching for in the box, and then click on
the binocular icon. The first occurrence of
the string will be underlined. Click again to
see the next occurrence in the report
The default for search is non-case
sensitive. Clicking this icon makes the
search case sensitive
This changes the direction of the search
from forward to backward in the report
Find
Search Case
Search Direction
Help and Exit
Control
Icon
Defined
Help
Displays WebFOCUS online help for help
with the viewer
Viewer Close
Exits the Report Viewer window
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Note: If you close the report using the browser close button, the report remains on
the Web Server taking up unnecessary space. If you close the report using the
Viewer Close button, the report is immediately deleted. The second option is
preferable from a systems point of view.
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Creating Temporary Fields
MRE provides you the ability to create temporary fields for your reports using fields
that exist in the data source. You can concatenate fields that are alphanumeric and
you can also perform simple arithmetic on numeric fields such as multiplying,
division, add and subtract.
In this example, it will be shown how to do both.
In the TRNHIST data source, the ORG code is broken down into its separate
components – L2, L3, L4, and L5. It will be demonstrated how to concatenate the
separate fields into one field titled ORG and then placed on the report.
Also we will perform simple arithmetic on the TRN_AMT field.
When you open a report in go into REPORT ASSISTANT, you will see the familiar
FIELDS LIST on the left hand side. Above the list, you will also see some icons.
The
icon is called the NEW DEFINE tool.
It has a drop down arrow which lets you:
1. Create a new Define
2. Edit a Define already established, or
3. Delete a Define
Click the Drop Down and select NEW DEFINE FIELD.
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The Define Field Creator dialog box opens:
2
1
5
6
3
4
1
2
3
4
5
6
Field
Format
Calculation
Workspace
Keypad
Field Icons
Functions Icon
Provide a unique name for your DEFINE
What kind of information the column will display and
column width
This is where you “build” the formula for the
calculation
Use the mouse to point and click to create an
expression
Displays the fields from your data source
Displays a series of functions that can be used to build
a temporary field
As an example, we are going to concatenate the L2-L5 fields into one field that will
display on the report. We will name the temporary field ORG and display it as a
column on the report. We will use the Define Field Creator above to do this.
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1. The first thing you should do is enter a unique name for the temporary field you
are creating in the FIELD box – in this case – ORG.
2. Next click on the FIELD Icon to display the fields in your data source.
1
2
All the fields from your data source will display:
3
4
3. Double Click on the field(s) you want to bring over to the Calculation
Workspace.
4. Use the
between each field to bring it into the formula.
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Your screen should look somewhat like the illustration below. Each field is
separated by the single bar taken from the keypad.
5. Click on the FORMAT button to set how the column will display and its
properties.
5
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The CHANGE FORMAT dialog box will display. The format will be DECIMAL 12 in
length and 2 places. This is the default.
6. We want to make the format for this ORG Alphanumeric and
7. Make the field 10 characters in length.
8. Click the OK button.
6
7
8
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When you click the OK button, you will be returned to the DEFINE FIELD CREATOR
where you will see the changes that you have affected.
a. The unique name has been given for your new temporary field.
b. The format has been established for this new field as well.
c. The expression has been formulated in the Calculation Workspace.
b
a
c
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9. Click the OK button here and you will be returned to the Report Assistant.
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In the Report Assistant, if you scroll down the field list on the left hand side, you will
see the new temporary field that you have created called ORG. Click and drag it into
the fields list you have selected to be displayed on the report on the right hand side.
Save the report if it hasn’t already been saved.
Run the report.
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Here you can see that the Temporary field that was created out of separate data
fields from the data source is now displayed in the report.
ORG now contains in one column all the field data contained in L2-L5.
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Now let’s see how to create a temporary field using a numerical field and perform a
little arithmetic with it.
We will take the TRN_AMT field and multiply it.
1. We start by opening a report in REPORT ASSISTANT and again we
located right above the Field List.
2. Click on the DEFINE Tool icon
3. Select NEW DEFINE FIELD from the drop down menu.
4. Let’s call the field FIVEPERCENT – we will multiply the TRN_AMT field by 1.05
to show a 5 percent increase – type the name in FIELD.
5. Leave the FORMAT as D12.2 Decimal.
6. Click on the FIELD LIST icon on the right to display the fields available in your
data source.
7. Double-click TRN_AMT to bring it over to the Calculation workspace.
8. Use the keypad to create an expression like the one below:
9. Click the OK button.
10. In Report Assistant, find the new FIVEPERCENT field, place it in your report
as a display field.
11. Run the Report and see the new calculated field. The FIVEPERCENT column
shows the calculated amount.
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The format is DECIMAL 12.2 but what if you wanted to change it to a dollar amount
to make it easier to read?
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Change Format Dialog box
The Change Format Dialog allows you to change the format of the DEFINE field that
was just created.
You would now EDIT the DEFINE field to change its format.
In Report Assistant now, select the FIVEPERCENT field, and click on the
once again, only this time click on the EDIT DEFINE field menu
DEFINE Tool icon
item.
The DEFINE Field Creator box opens once again. Click on the FORMAT button:
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The Change Dialog box
2
3
1
4
1
2
3
4
Format Type
Length
Decimal
Select options
Available formats – alphanumeric, numeric and date
Varies with type of field
Only Used for Floating Point, Decimal and Packed
How the field is displayed if a numeric format
To show a column with dollar signs for the amounts, select FLOATING DOLLAR and
click the OK button. Run the report.
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The FIVEPERCENT column should now display with the common dollars and cents
format:
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