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The Custom Report Editor page is a powerful feature that
enables users to build and save customised reports based on a range of simple to
advanced queries. Two types of report can be created:
- Preset reports: where the report always runs using the preset
search data created at design time.
- Dynamic reports: where the report runs by first prompting
the user for search criteria.
For example, a preset report could be used to list all new cases for the current month.
A dynamic report could be used to list all cases relateing to a specific client,
based on user-supplied data when the report in run.
Anatomy of a Custom Report
A custom report has the
following sections (note that items in square [] brackets indicate that this step is
optional:
-
Fields - a set of one or more
fields to be
returned as columns in the report. The field order will determine
exactly how the report will appear on the screen. Each field is
selected from the drop-down selection box, and the available
fields are listed in alphabetical order.
-
[Order] - determines the sorting order applied to the
Fields returned. For example, you might wish to sort by Date Actual
Completion, then by Client Surname. Each sort-order field can be individually
specified as ascending or descending order by selecting the
appropriate selection boxes.
-
[Field_Match] - filters the results according to one or
more rules you define. For example, you might wish to return all cases where
the Case Status field is equal to "Suspended".
Using Field_Match Criteria
The Field match section is built from a series of rules or expressions:
<Field Name> <arithmetic expression> <Value>
Rules are created by selecting a
field
from the fields drop-down selection box, an
expression
from the next selection box and entering some
search
data in the text box. For example:
Date Instructed > 14 July 2004
Rules are joined by conditions (e.g. and, or
, not). e.g.
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Date Instructed > 14 July 2004
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and
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Date Instructed <= 14 August 2004
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When more than one logical operator is used, it is important to
note that the operator precedence (the order in which the expressions are
evaluated) is as follows:
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The logical expressions (=, !=, <, <=, >, >=)
-
not
-
and
-
or
-
~ and "
The number of drop-down selection boxes displayed in each of these
sections can be increased or decreased by clicking the appropriate "More..."
and "Less..." buttons.
Another powerful feature is the ability to run reports over fixed or dynamic
time periods. This feature enables you to create reports that either
return data for a fixed period (e.g. from '01/08/2004' to '31/09/2004'), or for
a rolling 'window' of time (e.g. from '1 month ago' to 'today').
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