More about Report Definition rules

Use the Rule-Obj-Report-Definition.pxRetrieveReportData activity to execute the retrieval and sorting operations, but not the formatting and display processing, of a report definition rule.GATZH 3/26/2010 updates and additions for v6.1, note no longer method but activity .

Parameters

Specify all both key parts of a report definition rule and a clipboard page name.

Parameter	Description
pyReportClass	Select the Applies To key part of a report definition rule. This may identify an internal class or class group, or an external class.
pyReportName	Select the Purpose key part of a report definition rule.
pyPageName	Enter the name of the clipboard page that will hold the report results.

Results

The system uses rule resolution to find the report definition rule and executes it, but does not produce any HTML output display. The selection criteria of the report definition rule and the sorting requirements (recorded on the Design tab) are converted to an SQL query that is sent to the PegaRULES database.

The database results are organized into a results page of class Code-Pega-List. The name of this page is the value you provided for the pyPageName parameter.

Each embedded page contains the properties listed on the Design tab. If the Maximum Number of Rows to Retrieve field on the Data Access tab is not blank, the activity returns at most the number of embedded pages specified in the Maximum Number of Rows to Retrieve field. GATZH 3/31/2010

However, if report paging is enabled on the User Interactions tab, only the rows for the first page are returned.GATZH 3/26/2010

Performance

This method can return thousands of database rows and create large clipboard pages. Use care to retrieve only the rows (instances) and columns (properties) you truly need.

GATZH 3/31/2010 You can embed the results from a Report Definition rule within a section. For example, to display the results from a Report Definition rule named CustomerList within a flow action named IdentifyCustomer, complete the following steps:

1. On the Action tab of the flow action, enter the name of an activity (e.g., RunReportDefinition) to run before the flow action. The RunReportDefinition activity only needs a single step that calls the pxRetrieveReportData activity, providing as parameters to this activity the name and Applies To class of the Report Definition rule to run, and the name of the Code-Pega-List page on which results will be placed (e.g., CustomerListResults). The pxRetrieveReportData activity cannot be entered directly as the activity to run before the flow action since it is in a different class.
2. Add a section to the flow action with any name desired (e.g., CustomerListContainer).
3. Within this section, add another new section (e.g., CustomerList) whose Applies To class is Code-Pega-List and whose Purpose is the name of the Code-Pega-List page entered for the pxRetrieveReportData activity, CustomerListResults. The embedded section is needed because a direct reference to the Code-Pega-List cannot be made in the top-level section CustomerListContainer.
4. Insert a Repeating Grid layout into the CustomerList section.
5. Set the List/Group property for the layout to .pxResults, the Code-Pega-List property that contains the Report Definition results. GATZH 3/31/2010

Typically, managers do not need the ability to check in or check out rules. Use a dedicated RuleSet to hold manager-created reports. See Manager portal — Using the Report Browser.

The pzOpenAndRunReport activity runs a report rule and displays the results in a separate window.

The <pega:chart> JSP tag can be used to embed a chart created by a Report Definition rule in a section.GATZH changes 3/18/2010

You can use a list-type report definition to create a report in a Grid layout.

To add the layout you can either drag and drop a report definition from the Application Explorer onto a section, or you create the layout in the section and specify the report definition as the data source in the grid's repeating area. In the Grid layout, use SmartPrompt to select Column Name values to define the grid's columns.

You can specify joins in the grid. The presentation is determined by the Grid layout settings (column widths, show/hide, sorting, and so on), not the report definition settings. Grid report rows are read-only and cannot be re-sorted. See Harness, Section, and Flow Action forms - Adding a Grid layout.pashm 7/25/10