Report Definitions Working with the Report Viewer

When you run a report definition, the Report Viewer displays its results in a separate window. The Report Viewer offers many options for manipulating the displayed report, such as printing it and exporting it to Excel.

From the Report Viewer, you can open a report for editing in the Report Editor.

Viewing Reports

In the Report Viewer, the report's title displays at the top of the window. When the report is being run, there is a search box that lets you search for specific text within the report. When searching for text, click the search icon repeatedly to move the cursor from instance to instance of the search term where it appears in the report.

When viewing a list report in which paging is enabled, you usually only see a single page of results (typically, 50 rows) at a time. Page links at the top of the report allow you to move to other pages.

When vieiwing a summarized report, you usually see results grouped by one or more columns' values. Each group section will show one or more subtotals, sub-averages, or other values for that group.

Each group is expandable and collapsible for easier viewing: click the arrows to the left of the group headings. The Expand all group headings and Collapse all group headings links at the top of the report let you expand or collapse all group headings with a single click.

You can drill down by clicking on a row or cell of a summarized report to view detailed information about that row or cell. When you drill down to a detailed view, a breadcrumb trail at the top of the report lets you return to the original, summarized report.

If the report developer has enabled it, you can click on a column heading to sort the report by the values in the column. An arrow indicator and a small number beside the column name indicate in which direction (higher to lower or lower to higher) the column is sorted and where it stands in the sort order, if sorting is being used for multiple columns.

Command Ribbon and Search

Toolbar

If the report developer has enabled it, a toolbar appears at the top of the Report Viewer, with one or more of the commands described below.

Column command menu

Click at the right of any column header to display the column command menu, if the developer has enabled it. The menu options are:

• Filter - Click to display a form where you can select values in the column, and only display the rows that have those values. Click "Clear Filter" to remove any filter settings. Click Apply to apply the filter. Click Cancel to abandon your edits and close the form.
• Sort - Select "Lowest to highest" or "Highest to lowest". You can perform the same sort by clicking on the left of the column header. Click again to reverse the sort. An arrow, pointing up or down, appears beside the column label if the report is sorted by that column
• Appearance - Select to display the Appearance form. Provide values for the fields:
  • Column heading - Required. Provide a display label for the column.
  • Format values - Optional. Select a format. Click the icon to the right of the field to display the Param Window, where you can configure parameters to populate the format.
  • Width - Optional. Provide the column width in pixels or as a percentage of the window width.

  Click Submit to save the settings. Click Cancel to abandon your edits and close the form.

• Delete - Select to remove the column from the report. A confirmation form appears. Click Submit to remove the column. Click Cancel to keep the column and close the form.

to filter the report by the data in that column; or to edit, reformat, or delete that column. The commands available vary depending on whether you are working with a list report or summarized report.

Filtering

Filter conditions restrict which rows of data are included in a report (such as "only orders from these customers"; "only open cases"). Filter conditions appear at the top of the report, below the toolbar. However, filter conditions can be defined in the rule form and not appear on the report.

You can add new filter conditions only in the Report Editor or directly in the Report Definition that supports the report.

The developer can opt to let the report user:

• provide filter parameters before the report runs
  If the developer has selected this option, when the user runs the report, a form appears letting the user provide parameters that the report's filters use. The form fields display default values that the developer has set for each parameter; the user can accept some or all of the default values, and then submit the form to run the report.
  
  The parameters submitted are valid only for the current running of the report, and do not change the default parameter values.
• edit the filter conditions
  If the developer has selected this option, the report user can edit existing filter conditions (for instance, changing "less than 100" to "greater than 100" or "less than 150"). Any changes are valid only for the current execution of the report.

Editing filter conditions:

Filter conditions that you can edit appear as hyperlinks. Click a filter link to see the Edit filter form. This form shows the following information and options for the selected filter:

• The column name to which the filter applies. This entry cannot be edited.
• Relationship: Select a relationship operator for the condition, such as Is Equal or Starts With.
• One or more comparison values for the condition. You can:
  • Enter one or more values. Separate multiple values with commas. Enclose text values that contain spaces or special characters in double quotes: "Pegasystems Inc.".
  • Enter the name of a property (if, for example, you want to select cases where the date of resolution was the same as the date on which they were created), or select a different property using the SmartPrompt option by entering some characters and clicking the down arrow.
  • Enter an expression using the Calculation Builder by clicking the icon.
  • Click Pick Value to select one or more valid values for the column.
  If you selected Is Null or Is Not Null, you do not have to provide a comparison value.
• Enter an optional Filter Caption to describe the condition in business terms. If a caption is entered, it displays on the report for the condition.
• Click the chevron to the right of the Advanced Options header to display further options:
  • Use Null If Empty: Check the check box to use a comparison value to NULL if none is supplied above.
  • Ignore Case: Check the check box to perform case-insensitive comparisons. 

Click Apply to accept your changes, or click Cancel to close the form without changing the filter.

Report Definitions — Working with the Chart Editor Report Definition form — Completing the Chart tab Using the Report Browser

Tools — Reporting
About Report Definitions