Progress
Report Builder
Deployment Guide


Command-line Parameters

You can use all the standard Progress 4GL startup parameters, including the Parameter File (-pf) parameter, plus some new parameters that are specific to Report Engine.

Table 4–4 describes the locations where you can specify startup parameters.

Table 4–4: Valid Startup Parameter Locations 
Location
Description
startup.pf file
The startup.pf file is the parameter file at which all Progress clients look when they start. Therefore, Report Engine scans this, and any parameter files referenced in the file, looking for parameters. The PROSTARTUP environment variable contains the name of the startup.pf file. If PROSTARTUP is not defined, the default file name is “startup.pf.”

Because all Progress clients reference this parameter file, it cannot contain any Report Engine-specific startup parameters. Also, do not specify database connection parameters.
rbstart.pf file
The rbstart.pf file is an optional parameter file that only Report Builder and Report Engine scan. The RBSTARTUP environment variable contains the name of the startup.pf file. If RBSTARTUP is not defined, Report Builder and Report Engine look in the DLC directory for a file named “rbstart.pf.” If they do not find the file there, they give up their search and continue their startup process. To include the RBSTARTUP environment variable in the registry or progress.ini file, include it in the [RBStartup] section.
You can specify both Progress startup parameters and Report Engine-specific parameters in this parameter file.
Command line
When you specify parameters on the command line, they override any other parameter values stored in the startup.pf file or the rbstart.pf file.

There are many Progress 4GL startup parameters that you might want to use when you invoke Report Engine. For example, you can use the Date Format (-d) parameter to change the display format for dates in reports. See the Progress Startup Command and Parameter Reference for a complete listing of the Progress 4GL startup parameters.

Table 4–5 lists the Report Engine startup parameters and their syntax.

Table 4–5: Report Engine Startup Parameters 
Parameter
Syntax
Report Engine Record Delete
-rbdel  
Report Status File
-rbstatfile filename 
Encoded Password
-rbP password 
Report Engine Table Name
-rbtable table-name 
Report Tag
-rbtag tag 
Report Update Status
-rbupds 
Report Code Page In
-rbcpreportin codepage
UDF Code Page In
-rbcpudfin codepage

The remainder of this section describes each startup parameter, in alphabetical order by operating system syntax.

Report Code Page In (-rbcpreportin)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbcpreportin codepage 
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

codepage

Name of code page to use for the report.

Allows you to override the code page name stored in any reports you open. When you save a report, Report Builder assigns it a code page. When Report Engine attempts to read the report, the -rbcpreportin parameter tells Report Engine to treat the report as being in the specified code page. If you do not specify a value, Report Engine uses whatever code page was assigned to the report when it was last saved.

UDF Code Page In (-rbcpudfin)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbcpudfin codepage 
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

codepage

Name of code page to use for the user-defined function file.

Allows you to override the code page name stored in the user-defined function file (PRORB.UDF). When you define a UDF, Report Builder assigns it a code page. When Report Engine attempts to read a report that uses a UDF, the -rbcpudfin parameter tells Report Engine to treat the UDF as being in the specified code page. If you do not specify a value, Report Engine uses whatever code page was assigned to the UDF when it was last saved.

Report Engine Record Delete (-rbdel)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbdel  
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

This parameter tells Report Engine to delete the Report Engine table record corresponding to the report when it has finished generating the report. If you do not specify this parameter, Report Engine leaves the record intact.

Report Status File (-rbstatfile)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbstatfile filename 
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

filename

The pathname of the report status file into which Report Engine will write the status information.

This parameter tells Report Engine to create a file containing information about the reports it has generated. This file is called the report status file. If the file does not exist, Report Engine creates one. If the file does exist, Report Engine overwrites it. If you do not specify the full pathname, Report Engine uses its current working directory. If the Report Engine table contains multiple reports, the output file will contain information about all of the reports.

See "Report Engine Administration," for a description of the report status file.

Encoded Password (-rbP)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbP password 
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

password

An encoded password.

This parameter is an optional Report Engine-specific version of the Progress 4GL Password (-P) startup parameter. The -rbP parameter allows you to hide the value of a password.

Report Engine assumes that the value of the Encoded Password (-rbP) parameter was encoded using the aderb/_rbpwenc.p and therefore applies the reverse encoding and treats the result as if it had been provided by the Password (-P) parameter. See the "Using Password Security" section in "Report Engine Administration" for more information about security considerations.

You can use this parameter when you invoke Report Engine on the command line or in place of the -P parameter in the RB-DB-CONNECTION field of the Report Engine record.

Report Engine Table Name (-rbtable)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbtable table-name 
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
 
 
 
RBREPORT 
RBREPORT 

table-name

The name of the Report Engine table containing the report parameters.

If you do not specify this parameter, Report Engine assumes the table name is RBREPORT. When you invoke Report Engine, you must specify the connection parameters that tell Report Engine how to connect to the database containing this table. If you connect to more than one database on the command line, it looks for this table in the first database specified.

Report Tag (-rbtag)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbtag tag 
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
 
 
 
 
 

tag

A character string that indicates which reports to run.

The Report Tag (-rbtag) parameter tells Report Engine which reports to generate. If you do not specify this parameter, Report Engine generates all the reports in the Report Engine table.

For example, if the Report Engine table contains report records for four different quarterly reports, you can assign each set of records for a quarter a different tag such as Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 in the RB-TAG field. Then when you invoke Report Engine, specify the desired tag with the -rbtag parameter. To run the reports for the third quarter, you specify Q3 as the -rbtag value. Another way to use this parameter is to store the reports for multiple users in the Report Engine table, giving each record an RB-TAG value that is the corresponding user’s name, then specify a specific user’s tag to run only their reports.

Report Update Status (-rbupds)

Operating 
System
and
Syntax 
Windows 
-rbupds  
Use
With 
Maximum
Value 
Minimum
Value 
Single-user
Default 
Multi-user
Default 
 
 
 
 
 

The Report Update Status (-rbupds) parameter tells Report Engine to update the RB-STATUS field in the Report Engine table for each report.

If you specify the Report Update Status (-rbupds) parameter when you invoke Report Engine, Report Engine updates the RB-STATUS field with information describing where it is in the report generation process.Table 4–6 describes the possible parameter values Report Engine can provide to the RB-STATUS field.

Table 4–6: RB-STATUS Values 
Value
Meaning
STARTED
Report Engine has started generating the report.
COMPLETED
Report Engine has finished generating the report. This does not mean the report has been printed, only that it has been sent to the printer queue.
ERROR: message
Report Engine has detected an error and cannot complete generating the report.
blank
The Report Update Status (-rbupds) parameter is not set or Report Engine has not yet started generating this report.
CANCELLED
The user cancelled the report.

If you do not specify the -rbupds parameter when you invoke Report Engine, Report Engine ignores the RB-STATUS field, and the field remains blank.


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