Running the Report

Introduction

A simple report (one which is not part of a procedure) may be run in one of three ways:

  • directly by means of a program
  • via the menu to which the report is attached
  • via the form to which it is linked.

Using a Program to Run the Report

You can use the Run Report program (accessed from the Reports menu) or the Run Report/Procedure program (run as an Action from the Report Generator form) to run a report. This method is particularly useful during the report's development stages.

Reports, like forms, are generally accessed from menus. To position a given report within a menu, take the following steps:

  1. Enter the Menu/Form Link form, a sub-level of the Report Generator form.
  2. Indicate the name of the menu in question and specify M in the Type column. The title of the menu in question will appear automatically, to verify that you have specified the correct menu name.
  3. Specify an integer to determine the order of the report within the menu.
  4. Disregard the Background Execution column. This is only relevant for reports activated from within a form.

Note: The Menu Items form, a sub-level of the Menu Generator, serves a similar purpose.

Form Action

Like most other Priority entities, reports may be run directly from within a form. This option may be offered in addition to or in place of accessing the report through the menus. By linking a report to a form, it can be run and printed out directly from the form in question. When directly activated from the form, input will be restricted to the form record on which the cursor rests. Only columns which belong to the form’s base table serve as input data.

Running a report as an Action from within a form can take place in either the foreground or the background. If it is in the background, the user will be able to continue work in the form while the report is being run. Indeed, printouts of reports are generally run in the background.

To allow for running a report as an action from within a form, take the following steps:

  1. Enter the Menu/Form Link form, a sub-level of the Report Generator form.
  2. Indicate the name of the form in question and specify F in the Type column. The title of the form in question will appear automatically, to verify that you have specified the correct form name.
  3. Specify an integer to determine the order of the report within the form’s list of Actions.
  4. If the report is to be run in the background, flag the Background Execution column.

Note: The Actions form, which is a sub-level of the Form Generator form, serves a similar purpose.

Further Reading