Edit1 What are Reports?
Reports are a convenient way of combining a query with a print format so users can easily see pertinent information in an agreed upon format. Before you can create a report you must first create the query that specifies which information should be contained in the report and the print format that should be used to render the report.
The advantage of defining reports is that it creates a simple, efficient, and well defined way for viewing information. IssueNet ships with several reports, and using the Report Designer, Administrators can design and add reports as needed.
Edit2 What are Print Formats?
Print Formats define layout information for reportable IssueNet items that can use for printing or reporting. Using the built in print format designer, the Administrator can create as many different layouts needed to handle the organizations printing and reporting requirements. The same print format can be used by IssueNet items derived from the base print item type. Print formats are stored in the database so changes to a print format design are automatically made available to all users.
There are three different print format types that can be used to view items:
- Tabular Print Format
- Snapshot Print Format
- Trend Print Format
Edit3 Using the Report Designer
ScreenCap
The report toolbox is made up of the following components:
- Pointer- Allows you to select controls or sections of the report
- Label- Allows you to insert a new static label control
- Textbox- Allows you to insert a textbox, bound to a database field or unbound
- Checkbox- Allows you to insert a checkbox, bound to a database field or unbound
- Picture- Allows you to insert an image, loaded from a file
- Line- Allows you to insert a line control
- Shape- Allows you to insert a rectangle, circle or square shape
- RichText- Allows you to insert an ActiveReports RichText control
- Subreport- Allows you to insert a Subreport control to link to another report
- PageBreak- Allows you to insert a page break within a selection
- Barcode- Allows you to insert an ActiveReports Barcode control
- Print Date- Displays the date the Report was printed
- Page Number- Allows you to list the page number of a multi-page report
- Data Source- Allows you to view the Data Source from which the Report was printed
- Query Name- Allows you to view the Query on which the Report is based
- Query Total- Allows you to view the number of records contained in the Query
- Class Name- Allows you to view the Class on which the report is based
Edit4 Creating and Editing a Snapshot Chart Format
Snapshot chart formats produce graphs based on the current state of items in IssueNet. A snapshot chart format is based on a single property from a single class of item. Typically the property chosen has a limited set of possible values based on an item list. A snapshot chart format can dynamically chart all values of the property found in the database, or can use statically defined values. Statically defined values can be single values, or can be grouped allowing multiple values in the database to represent a single value on the chart. For example using the common property “Status”, a user may only be interested in whether an item is “Opened” or “Closed”, but several statuses represent “Open”, and several more represent “Closed”. All of the values can be placed into one of the two groups, resulting in a more easily interpreted chart.
Several different types of charts are available to use with a snapshot chart format, each one of the chart types conveys the same basic data, but they differ in how they display and emphasize aspects of the data:
- Column
- Bar Scatter
- Bubble
- Pie
Snapshot print formats are created and edited using the snapshot print format designer which can be launched by opening an existing snapshot chart format or creating a new format.
Edit5 Creating and Editing Trend Chart Formats
Trend chart formats produce graphs based on the current state of items in IssueNet. Snapshot print formats are created and edited using the snapshot print format designer which can be launched by opening an existing trend chart format or creating a new format.
The date range and date interval are always specified for a trend chart. The date range defines the time period shown by the chart and the date interval defines the frequency that data points will be taken within the time period. For example with a date range of “Last Year” and a date interval of “Months” if the current date is April 1st, 2020, the data range would be January 1st, 2019 through December 31st 2019, and 12 data points would be drawn, one for each month.
A trend chart format is based on one or more properties from a single class of item. Data is grouped into a series, with each series bound to a single property and one or more values of the property. There are 2 types of series:
- “Rate of Change” series count properties that are changed to the value at one point during the time interval. An example of a rate series could be issues with a status of “Closed”. This would chart the number of issues closed out within each time interval.
- “State of Value” series count properties that have the value at the beginning of the time period. An example of a state series could be issues with a status of “Open”. This would chart the number of issues open at the beginning of each time interval.
Several different types of charts are available to use with a snapshot chart format each one of the chart types conveys the same basic data, but they differ in how they display and emphasize aspects of the data. These charts include:
- Line
- Spline
- Column
- Area
- Spline Area
- Stacking Area
- Stacking Column
- Step Line
- Step Area
- Scatter
- Bubble
Edit6 Creating and Editing Tabular Print Formats
Tabular print formats are traditional text based formats that are bound to a particular type of IssueNet item. Tabular print formats may contain sub-report information based on the IssueNet items relationships defined in the solution which allows print formats to be created in a variety of complexities from very simple to complete. Additional, sub-reports may be filtered and sorted using custom queries. Tabular print formats can be created and edited using the tabular print format designer which is accessed on the designer tab of the tabular print format form.
When a print format is viewed at runtime, IssueNet item label names are substituted with the information specified in the solution so that changes in property display names are handled automatically.