user defined export/report in RUNTIME

[Jeremy Packman]

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to make it so that end users with Runtime version of A5 can create their own reports and/or export actions based on their defined searches etc. Something like a wizard to 'talk' a user through the procedure. The runtime naturally does not give access to the Control panel, so I would like to build in a button action for this. In particular, a client wants to use A5 database date to create a mail merge in Word. What about being able to use A5's built in letter writer. Can a user setup a letter?? They (and me) would prefer to semi automate creating a txt or CSV file and exporting and then use Word to mail-merge.

Did I explain the problem OK...seems a bit rambly when I re read it

Jeremy

[Bill Warner]

RE: user defined export/report in RUNTIME

Here's something that might work:

Create a saved export operation based on 3 fields, for instance. Before running it, turn on the script recorder, then run the operation. Now look at the script in the recorder. This will give you the basic format for scripting the export.

Now, you could set up a form (displayed as a dialog if you wish) on which the user could select the fields he wants to include. You could use check boxes to select them. then, take the results of the variables set by the check boxes, and build the script using the variable names as the field names. You could count the variables to determine the number of fields.

While this is somewhat vague, I think the principle is sound. Let me know if you need more direction.

[csda1]

RE: user defined export/report in RUNTIME

Hi Jeremy,

End users can not make their own reports or exports within the runtime.
Nevertheless, I wrote some complicated XBasic code to allow user-specified exports to be created and saved. This is very complex due to some idiosyncrasies of A5 V4.x. I'm hoping A5V5 will simplify this tremendously. I have considered offering this module for general sale after Version 5 becomes available, but will have to see how my time permits.

The reports can't be changed dynamically except in very trivial ways. I have a number of ideas of methodology to do this, but it is not very neat. Version 5 may make this easier, but I have not tested my methods on recent beta versions.

Regards,

Ira J. Perlow
Computer Systems Design & Associates
[email protected]

[Stan Mathews]

RE: user defined export/report in RUNTIME

Jeremy,

We have recently tried to work around this limitation by doing the following.

1. Define a group of fields that the users need to export, include more rather than less
2. Design an export that includes all the fields, select "current selection of records" as the filter, have the users create a commonly named directory on their local drive, have the export save to this directory
3. Design a form based on the same set or table that the export is based
4. On this form try to include any fields which the users might query to "limit" the export to their needs
5. Put a button on this form to run the saved export

In practice you may have four salesmen. They need to look at sales data for their departments, regions, etc., but they are looking at the same fields in your tables, just different subsets. They can use the above to query by form on the data, run an export, and only have the data they want.

You do have to make them understand that if you have designed an export to give them, say, monthly sales for each month, and they only want to see the current month, don't look at anything but the current month or use the spreadsheet tools to hide/remove the data they don't want. Each user does not need an export designed to their exact specifications.

Hope this helps.

Stan

[Finian Lennon]

RE: user defined export/report in RUNTIME

I agree that there is no easy way to have a user-defined report, but I would say that it is definitely possible to write Xbasic which would allow a user to define their own operations. I recently wrote a "generic" Xbasic append script which allows my colleagues to do appends without ever accessing the append window in the Control Panel. I'm pretty sure that the principles applied in that script could be applied to a user-defined export or copy routine, for example.

I'd approach it this way ...

1. Have the user select the table from which they wish to export
2. Parse the table field names into a saved table in which the field names would be presented to the user in an embedded browse in a form. (My append script parses the field names from the master and transaction tables into arrays, compares them and alerts the user to any differences between them.)
3. The user would double click on the browse lines to select the field names they want to export (like in Bill Parker's documentor) and the double click would mark that record and maybe change the color of the line.
4. From an export button on that form the user would run code which
5. Extracts the marked field names to be exported and
6. Parses the fieldnames into the required operation syntax

The Xbasic for most, if not all, of the operations requires only that you know how many fields should be processed, their correct field names, the name of the source and target tables and the operation type. Most of that is accomplished in steps 1 to 5 and the rest could be easily obtained. So, bottom line I don't think it's that hard from a table. It would definitely be more complicated from a set but I think it could still be done by parsing the records from the set into a flat file then proceeding as above.

Finian