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Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

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    Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

    I know this seems an odd Alpha need but I am dealing with wicked bureaucrats. I just started working at a gig that requires the submission of bills with hourly and flat rate codes. They provided an excel form, which is attached. I created a very nice billing APP in Alpha over a couple of weekends (pats on the back, etc. etc.). I submitted the first bills (there are 50) on the report form I created which is soooo close to their template and they said, not good enough.

    The big problem is that the grid does not go to the bottom and the total is in the middle of the page (as the detail section footer). I need the grid to display the empty rows and have the total always in the same place at the bottom. Tweaking the rest of it should not be a problem but I can not figure out the grid lines. Any ideas? Repeat blank rows somehow? Make a UX that does it with a list? Anything?

    billingpic.png

    #2
    Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

    I had to do something similar years ago, and what I ended up doing was figuring out how many rows fit on a page, and creating enough blank records each time the report was run (using temporary tables) to ensure that I had sufficient numbers of records to end up with exact multiples of the number needed to fill up a page.

    It was something like:

    If it takes X number of records to fill up a page, and I had fewer than X records, create enough blank records to reach X. If I had more than X records, figure out how many pages were required to display the records, then add enough blank records to equal X times the number of pages.

    Hope this helps.
    Jay
    Jay Talbott
    Lexington, KY

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      #3
      Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

      Jay, that is helpful. I am not quite sure how to accomplish it though. Did you do add the records with code at render time or did you do it manually?

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

        I empty a temporary table, then I add the records with code at render time to the temporary table, then print the report from the table. This should work with DBF or SQL backends.
        Jay
        Jay Talbott
        Lexington, KY

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          #5
          Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

          Great suggestion Jay. I can definitely see how this would work. However, that kind of programming my be well beyond my skill set. Do you have any of the code you used? If not, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Well, pretty sure. In any event, thanks for showing me a path.

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            #6
            Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

            When you copy your queried table to a temp table, get the record count, calculate the rows needed as stated above then append X number of records by populating an undisplayed field with a dummy value - like "Z". Base your report on the temp table and you should be good to go. I uploaded a UDF I use to create a packing slip report that always prints 40 lines. Hopefully it will give you an idea that you can adapt.

            PC_Temp_03232018.txt

            And as always, if you can upload your own tables here it will be easier to help you.
            Robin

            Discernment is not needed in things that differ, but in those things that appear to be the same. - Miles Sanford

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              #7
              Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

              To anyone who has gotten this far in this seemingly useless task thread and is wondering how I accomplished this without a night courses in XML and SQL. Just good old Alpha action JS and little light script. First, set 30 rows of dummy bills in a dummy client and used the embedded PDF with custom search Action Java. After adding a list which filtered on the selected client a little script to calculate the empty rows needed (with an input to change the # of empty rows if any rows expand for content). Then, The Action script to search {client} OR {Range of billing dummy ID} (this is where the embedded PDF Action exceeds the open PDF Action JS) to return the full set. Lastly, set the Report to group on a dummy field with constant value so only one master record per report. (Result set also includes dummies) and one more dummy field to accomplish sorting so client always comes before dummy and... done. Virtually identical to the excel template. See below. Thanks to all the great suggestions. It was the idea of blank records rather than the report tweaking that I was trying that set me on the right path. Much appreciated.

              ux1.png
              Last edited by ecalan; 03-24-2018, 11:39 PM.

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                #8
                Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

                This just proves what we have said in this office for years, "The client is not always right, but the client is still the client." Sometimes clients' stupid requirements make us stretch our skills. Now if they were only willing to pay for the aggravation.
                Jay
                Jay Talbott
                Lexington, KY

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                  #9
                  Re: Creating a report that looks like an Excel spreadsheet

                  True that Jay. I would have just put the grid in as an over-lay. That's how I do pre-printed reports.

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