4 15 14 Design a Report

4.15.14 Design a Report

Once one or more DEF_XXXXX report commands have been chosen for design/display purposes an "image" of what the report line(s) will look like when they are printed is presented.

The content and format of the "image" will of course vary widely according to the commands selected and the fields used within the commands, so for purposes of explanation a specific example is used.

The example screen is the result of selecting a DEF_HEAD command (by entering option 1) and a DEF_LINE command (by entering option X) like this:

Opt_Rpt_Seq_Command__Parameter(s)_____________________Cycles : 1

 1       1  DEF_HEAD NAME(#HEADING) FIELDS((#ORDNUM) (#DIVNUM) 

                     (#CUSNUM)(#CUSNAM))

 X   1   2  DEF_LINE NAME(#DETAIL) FIELDS((#PRODNO) (#PRODES) 

                     (#QUANTY)(#VALUE))

The "image" of the report resulting from this selection might look like this when presented by the report design facility:

Order no DDDD Division no DD Customer no DDDD Name D 

 Product  Product                    Qty                Line           

 Number   Description                Supplied           Value          

 DDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD  9,999,999- 999,999,999.99-        

 Act :                                                                 

This example is for an 80 column workstation. Note how field #CUSNAM does not entirely fit onto the display. To view field #CUSNAM you would have to use the commands available to move screen "window" from left to right. These are described in detail in the following sections.

If you are using a 132 column workstation (i.e. a 3180) then 132 columns of the report will be displayed. Of course, if you are designing a report wider than 132 columns it will still be necessary to window the display from left to right.

Note the following points about this example:

• Lines 1 -> 23/26 of the "image" are just that. They are an "image" of what the lines will look like when actually printed. They are not input capable and cannot be directly changed in any way.

• On line 24 is the only input capable field on the entire screen. It is called the "action" field and is used to "design" or "paint" the report "image" that is displayed on lines 1-23.

Using the "action" field is very simple. You enter one of the "action codes" below to indicate what you wish to do and then follow the instructions that are displayed on line 24.

When you are comfortable with using "action" codes you can then begin to work more quickly using the associated function key to reduce the number of actions that you must take to make the painter modify the report layout.

The list of valid "action" codes and function keys for report design is as follows: