Priority Lite and Dashboards

Introduction

The HTML procedures used to display reports on the Internet in Priority Lite or data in Priority Dashboards are very similar to regular procedures in Priority . However, there are some basic differences, including additional features that support the special needs of these procedures. There are also some new features that allow you to specially design the displayed reports. This section focuses on those innovations.

These procedures are displayed on the Internet or in Dashboards by means of HTML pages that are generated by each INPUT step in the procedure. One or more of the following can be displayed in these pages:

  • reports
  • input parameters from the procedure
  • procedure messages (including error messages)
  • graphic web parts.

A base HTML page serves as a template for the page that is displayed. This base page defines where to situate the reports, parameters and messages displayed by the procedure. It can then be revised, and pictures, links and text may be added.

Before you can create the base page for each INPUT step, however, you must construct the HTML procedure and its reports.

The Structure of HTML Procedures

There are two essential structural differences between HTML procedures and regular ones:

  • Reports can only be displayed in an INPUT step.
  • The procedure does not run continuously from beginning to end. Rather, it is interrupted at each INPUT step, at which time it generates an HTML page. It continues where it left off when the user clicks Go (or any other link) on that page.

Displaying Reports

  1. Generate the report in a REPORT step.
  2. Include in that step, in addition to the parameters that are transferred to the report, an additional parameter of ASCII type with the value OUTPUT (do not use quotation marks).
  3. Use the same parameter in a (later) INPUT step, but this time without any value.

Note: There is no limit to the number of reports that can be displayed in the same INPUT step.

Example: In a procedure that displays the Sales Orders form, you can define three reports: one for the header, another for the order items and a third for totals. The procedure in question generates the three reports (in separate REPORT steps) and then displays them together in the same HTML page (i.e., in the same INPUT step).

Retaining Variable Values After the Procedure Stops

As the procedure does not run continuously, but rather stops and starts, its link files and variables “disappear” whenever it is interrupted. To retain the value of a variable:

  1. Define it as a procedure parameter.
  2. Make sure it is included as a parameter in the INPUT step at which the procedure stops.

The variables in question are recorded in a hidden section of the HTML page, and their values are returned to the procedure when it is run again.

Further Reading