Creating Reports

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This documentation describes how to use FOCUS Version 7.7 in the z/OS environment. It is intended for all FOCUS users. This manual is part of the FOCUS documentation set.

References to z/OS apply to all supported versions of the OS/390, z/OS, and MVS operating environments.

The documentation set consists of the following components:

The Creating Reports manual describes FOCUS Reporting environments and features.
The Describing Data manual explains how to create the metadata for the data sources that your FOCUS procedures will access.
The Developing Applications manual describes FOCUS Application Development tools and environments.
The Maintaining Databases manual describes FOCUS data management facilities and environments.
The Using Functions manual describes internal functions and user-written subroutines.
The Overview and Operating Environments manual contains an introduction to FOCUS and FOCUS tools and describes how to use FOCUS in the z/OS environment.

How This Manual Is Organized

This manual includes the following chapters:

Chapter/Appendix		Contents
1	Creating Tabular Reports	Provides an introduction to the TABLE command, a powerful tool for analyzing data.
2	Displaying Report Data	Describes ways to retrieve field values from a data source and display them.
3	Viewing and Printing Report Output	Describes the HotScreen facility for viewing report output.
4	Sorting Tabular Reports	Describes how to display report information grouped in a particular order by sorting.
5	Selecting Records for Your Report	Describes how to use and specify selection criteria to display only the field values that meet your needs.
6	Creating Temporary Fields	Describes how to use the DEFINE and COMPUTE commands to create temporary fields.
7	Including Totals and Subtotals	Describes how to use subtotals and grand totals to summarize numeric information and aid in interpreting detailed information in a report.
8	Using Expressions	Describes how to combine operators, field names, and constants in an expression to derive new values.
9	Customizing Tabular Reports	Describes how to override the default report formats to meet your individual presentation needs.
10	Saving and Reusing Your Report Output	Describes how to save report data to files for reuse in different respects.
11	Styling Reports	Describes how to visually style your reports with StyleSheets, used to control report output to be printed on a PostScript printer.
12	Cascading Style Sheets	Describes how cascading style sheets (CSS) provide a standardized method for styling HTML documents. To use an existing cascading style sheet, you can link it to your report and, optionally, apply additional CSS classes to specific report components.
13	Choosing a Styled Display Format	Describes the display formats available for viewing reports on the screen, including PDF, EXL2K, and XLSX.
14	Advanced StyleSheet Features	Describes advanced StyleSheet features such as positioning and aligning elements.
15	Handling Records With Missing Field Values	Describes how missing data affects report results and how to treat and represent it.
16	Joining Data Sources	Describes how to join two or more related data sources to create a larger integrated data structure from which you can report.
17	Merging Data Sources	Describes how to merge and concatenate two or more data sources into a new permanent data source.
18	Improving Report Processing	Describes methods of increasing data retrieval and reporting efficiency.
19	Creating Financial Reports With Financial Modeling Language (FML)	Describes the Financial Modeling Language (FML) used to create and present financially oriented data, using inter-row calculations.
20	Creating a Free-Form Report	Describes how to present data in an unrestricted (non-tabular) format.
21	Creating Graphs: GRAPH	Describes the FOCUS GRAPH facility, which you can use to display data in graph format instead of tabular format.
22	Using SQL to Create Reports	Describes how to use SQL to retrieve and analyze FOCUS and DBMS data.
A	Master Files and Diagrams	Contains Master Files and diagrams of sample data sources used in the documentation examples.
B	Error Messages	Describes how to obtain information about error messages.
C	Table Syntax Summary and Limits	Summarizes TABLE commands and options.
D	Writing User-Coded Programs to Create HOLD Files	Describes how to write programs that get records retrieved by FOCUS so you can write them to files in a custom format.

Documentation Conventions

The following table lists and describes the conventions that apply in this manual.

Convention	Description
THIS TYPEFACE or this typeface	Denotes syntax that you must enter exactly as shown.
this typeface	Represents a placeholder (or variable) in syntax for a value that you or the system must supply.
underscore	Indicates a default setting.
this typeface	Represents a placeholder (or variable), a cross-reference, or an important term. It may also indicate a button, menu item, or dialog box option you can click or select.
Key + Key	Indicates keys that you must press simultaneously.
{ }	Indicates two or three choices; type one of them, not the braces.
[ ]	Indicates a group of optional parameters. None are required, but you may select one of them. Type only the parameter in the brackets, not the brackets.
\|	Separates mutually exclusive choices in syntax. Type one of them, not the symbol.
...	Indicates that you can enter a parameter multiple times. Type only the parameter, not the ellipsis points (...).
. . .	Indicates that there are (or could be) intervening or additional commands.

Related Publications

Visit our Technical Documentation Library at http://documentation.informationbuilders.com. You can also contact the Publications Order Department at (800) 969-4636.

Customer Support

Do you have any questions about this product?

Join the Focal Point community. Focal Point is our online developer center and more than a message board. It is an interactive network of more than 3,000 developers from almost every profession and industry, collaborating on solutions and sharing tips and techniques. Access Focal Point at http://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums.

You can also access support services electronically, 24 hours a day, with InfoResponse Online. InfoResponse Online is accessible through our website, http://www.informationbuilders.com. It connects you to the tracking system and known-problem database at the Information Builders support center. Registered users can open, update, and view the status of cases in the tracking system and read descriptions of reported software issues. New users can register immediately for this service. The technical support section of www.informationbuilders.com also provides usage techniques, diagnostic tips, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Call Information Builders Customer Support Services (CSS) at (800) 736-6130 or (212) 736-6130. Customer Support Consultants are available Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST to address all your questions. Information Builders consultants can also give you general guidance regarding product capabilities. Please be ready to provide your six-digit site code number (xxxx.xx) when you call.

To learn about the full range of available support services, ask your Information Builders representative about InfoResponse Online, or call (800) 969-INFO.

Information You Should Have

To help our consultants answer your questions effectively, be prepared to provide the following information when you call:

Your six-digit site code (xxxx.xx).
The stored procedure (preferably with line numbers) .
The Master File and Access File.
Run sheet (beginning at login, including call to FOCUS), containing the following information:
- ? RELEASE
- ? FDT
- ? LET
- ? LOAD
- ? COMBINE
- ? JOIN
- ? DEFINE
- ? STAT
- ? SET/? SET GRAPH
- ? TSO DDNAME
The exact nature of the problem:
- Are the results or the format incorrect? Are the text or calculations missing or misplaced?
- The error message and return code, if applicable.
- Is this related to any other problem?
Has the procedure or query ever worked in its present form? Has it been changed recently? How often does the problem occur?
What release of the operating system are you using? Has it, your security system, communications protocol, or front-end software changed?
Is this problem reproducible? If so, how?
Have you tried to reproduce your problem in the simplest form possible? For example, if you are having problems joining two data sources, have you tried executing a query containing just the code to access the data source?
Do you have a trace file?
How is the problem affecting your business? Is it halting development or production? Do you just have questions about functionality or documentation?

User Feedback

In an effort to produce effective documentation, the Technical Content Management staff welcomes your opinions regarding this document. Please use the Reader Comments form at the end of this document to communicate your feedback to us or to suggest changes that will support improvements to our documentation. You can also contact us through our website http://documentation.informationbuilders.com/connections.asp.

Thank you, in advance, for your comments.

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