Progress
Report Builder
Tutorial
Creating the Initial Report Layout
The first step in generating any report is to create the initial report layout. There are two ways to create an initial report layout. You can use either the default Report Builder layout or the Instant Layout option. If you use the default layout, Report Builder provides a layout that includes only one blank record band line. In contrast, the Instant Layout option allows you to specify the fields to include in the report, then automatically formats them on the report layout.
The Instant Layout option creates a basic, usable report. However, it probably will not provide all the information you need or lay out the fields in the exact manner in which you want to display the data. So, after you create a layout with the Instant Layout option, you can modify the report definition in many ways to suit the purposes of individual reports.
Follow these steps to create a report layout using the Instant Layout option.
- Choose Report
New or the New button. The Database Tables dialog box appears:
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- Select the Customer table to specify it as the master table for the report, then choose OK. Report Builder prompts you to use the Instant Layout option:
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- Choose Yes. The Instant Layout Fields dialog box lists the fields defined for the Customer table:
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- Scroll through the selection list and select Balance, then choose the Add button. Balance appears in the Selected Fields list.
- Select and add Contact, Cust–Num, Name, and Phone in the same manner. To select multiple fields, press and hold CTRL and click the fields. The Instant Layout Fields dialog box contains all five fields in the Selected Fields list:
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Notice that when the fields appear in the Selected Fields list, each field name is preceded by the word “Customer.” This occurs because “Customer” is the name of the table in which each of these fields is defined. Report Builder attaches the table name to each field name to identify the field’s origin. Because you are only selecting fields from a single table, all the fields in the list are identified by the same table name, and the identification seems unnecessary. However, when you select fields from a list that contains fields from multiple tables, the table name identifier is very useful.
Also notice the order in which the fields appear in the Selected Fields list. This order is important because Report Builder places the selected fields on the report layout in the order in which they appear in the list. Because the Accounts Receivable report displays the fields in a different order than the order in which you selected the fields, you must reorder the fields in the Selection List.
- To place Cust–Num as the first field on the report layout, select it and choose Move Up two times. Cust–Num moves to the top of the Selected Fields list:
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- Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to place the fields in the following order: Cust–Num, Name, Balance, Phone, and Contact. After you reorder the fields, the Instant Layout Fields dialog box looks like this:
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- Choose OK. Report Builder displays a report layout that places the selected fields from the Customer table on the report layout, as shown in Figure 3–1.
Figure 3–1: Accounts Receivable Instant Layout
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Notice that the layout includes more fields than the five you selected from the Customer table. The Instant Layout option automatically includes the fields you specified, plus Report Builder-created calculated fields, text fields, and an aggregate field. The calculated fields display the date, time, number of records printed, and page number. The text fields display the master table name and identify the database and calculated fields. Lastly, the aggregate field computes and displays the totals for the Balance field.
The band lines on which fields appear control where Report Builder displays or prints these fields. This report uses five types of band lines as shown in the band area at the left of the window. See "Report Builder Basics," if you do not know how Report Builder uses band lines. For more detailed information, see the bands chapter in the Progress Report Builder User’s Guide .
Figure 3–2 highlights the band line labels that identify each band line type.
Figure 3–2: Instant Layout with Band Line Labels
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The title band lines display the master table name, print date, and print time at the top of the first page. The page header band line includes the field labels for the specified fields and prints them after the title on the first page and at the top of each subsequent page.
The record band line contains information from each database table record for the fields you selected in the Instant Layout Fields dialog box. When you generate the report, Report Builder displays data from these fields for each record in the Newsport database. Although the record band appears as a single line on the layout, the generated report has many record lines—one for each record in the table.
The total for the Balance field and the number of records printed appear in the summary band lines, which appear at the end of the last page of the report. The page footer displays the page number at the bottom of each page, including the last page of the report.
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