Creating an Active Technologies Report

In this section:

How to:

An active report provides customizable options for creating an HTML-formatted report that enables users to experience features similar to those found in Excel workbooks. An active report is designed for distribution to users to perform offline analysis and interactive functions without any connection to a server. All of the data and JavaScript code are stored within the HTML file, which also makes the output highly compressible for e-mail and transparent to security systems.

Specific FOCUS StyleSheet commands enable developers to set the initial state of the report and control the options available to users. When you develop active reports, the options that you can control include:

Syntax: How to Create an Active Technologies Report

To create an HTML active report, use 

ON TABLE {HOLD|SAVE} FORMAT AHTML

where:

HOLD

Saves the report output to a temporary file for later use.

SAVE

Saves the report output to a file for later use.

AHTML

Creates an HTML version of the report.

Example: Creating an Active Technologies Report

The following code generates an HTML active report.

All customized (non-default) values and corresponding keywords, used to specifically format an HTML active report, are shown in bold. 

TABLE FILE CENTURYSALES
SUM
     ORDERNUMBER
     ORDERDATE
     QUANTITY
     LINEPRICE
     BY PLANTCODE AS 'Plant'
ON TABLE SET PAGE-NUM OFF 
ON TABLE SET BYDISPLAY ON 
ON TABLE NOTOTAL
ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT AHTML 
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
     UNITS=IN,
     SQUEEZE=ON,
     ORIENTATION=PORTRAIT, $
TYPE=REPORT,
     GRAPHCOLOR='GREEN',
     GRAPHCOLORNEG='RED', $
TYPE=REPORT,
     FONT='ARIAL',
     SIZE=9,
     COLOR='BLACK',
     BACKCOLOR='NONE',
     STYLE=NORMAL,
     FREEZE-WIDTH=AUTO,
     LINES-PER-PAGE=30,
     CALC-LOCATION=BOTTOM,$
TYPE=TITLE, STYLE=BOLD, $
TYPE=REPORT,
     OBJECT=MENU,
     COLOR=RGB(0 51 102),
     HOVER-COLOR='WHITE',
     BACKCOLOR=RGB(51 204 204),
     HOVER-BACKCOLOR='PURPLE',
     BORDER-COLOR='FUCHSIA', $
TYPE=REPORT,
    OBJECT=STATUS-AREA,
    COLOR=RGB(153 51 0),
    BACKCOLOR='AQUA', $
TYPE=REPORT,
    OBJECT=CURRENT-ROW,
    HOVER-BACKCOLOR=RGB(255 255 153),
    BACKCOLOR=RGB(255 153 0), $
TYPE=REPORT,
    OBJECT=CALC-AREA,
    COLOR=RGB(153 51 0),
    BACKCOLOR=RGB(255 204 153), $
TYPE=REPORT, COLUMN=N2, CALCULATION=CNT, $
TYPE=REPORT, COLUMN=N4, CALCULATION=SUM, $
ENDSTYLE
END

The output is:



Starting at the top of the report, notice the customized background colors, the record status and page navigation bar, the first data row (which is selected), the fourth data row (which is hovered), and the calculation row at the bottom.

Controlling Formatting Options for Active Technologies Reports

How to:

Some of the formatting options can only be controlled or implemented from the user menus in the output of an active report. For more information about these options, see User-Controlled Options in an Active Report.

You can set the initial state of an active report by customizing many report options with FOCUS StyleSheet syntax. You can enable or disable some options prior to distribution to users. The following syntax sections describe the options you can control.

Syntax: How to Control the Window Display Option

To control how windows display in the report output when multiple windows are open in the Web browser, use 

TYPE=REPORT, WINDOW-DISPLAY=coldesc, $

where:

coldesc

Enables the report to display multiple open windows as tabs or cascaded windows in the Web browser. Multiple windows are created in the browser when viewing data as a chart, a roll-up table, and so on.

Valid values are CASCADE or TAB.

Syntax: How to Control the Row Selection Colors

To control the colors of the row being selected or hovered over, use 

TYPE=REPORT, OBJECT=CURRENT-ROW, HOVER-BACKCOLOR=hovercolor, 
BACKCOLOR=selectcolor, $

where:

CURRENT-ROW

Specifies the object, which is the current row where the mouse pointer is clicked, or is hovering.

hovercolor

Specifies the background color of the row where the mouse pointer is hovering. The default value is RGB(255 252 204), which is a shade of yellow. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'YELLOW', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(255 255 153).

selectcolor

Specifies the background color of the row selected (click anywhere within a row). The default is RGB(51 255 204), which is a mix of green and blue. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'BLUE', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(153 53 0).

Syntax: How to Control User Menu Options

To control the user menu options, which determine the location and color characteristics of the user menu in the report, use the appropriate syntax section that follows.

To control all of the colors of the user menu, use

TYPE=REPORT, OBJECT=MENU, COLOR=textcolor, 
HOVER-COLOR=hovertextcolor,BACKCOLOR=backcolor, 
HOVER-BACKCOLOR=hoverbackcolor,BORDER-COLOR=bordercolor, $

where:

MENU

Specifies the object, which is the user menu.

textcolor

Specifies the color of the text (font) in the user menu. BLACK is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'YELLOW', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(153 153 153).

hovertextcolor

Specifies the color for the hover text in the user menu. BLACK is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'RED', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(255 255 153).

backcolor

Specifies the color for the background (non-text) areas in the user menu. SILVER is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'GOLD', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(153 51 0).

hoverbackcolor

Specifies the color for the background area of the user menu where your mouse pointer is hovering. WHITE is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'ORANGE', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(51 204 204).

You can use this, along with the hover text color, to visually contrast the menu option where the mouse is currently hovering from the rest of the menu.

bordercolor

Specifies the color for the borders of the user menu. WHITE is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'BLUE', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(255 255 153).

Syntax: How to Control the Calculations Options

To control the calculations options, which determine the column and the calculation you want to perform, along with the styling characteristics of the calculation results row, use the appropriate syntax section that follows.

  • To perform column calculations, use 
    TYPE=REPORT, COLUMN=coldesc, CALCULATION=calc, $

    where:

    coldesc

    Specifies the description (column name or identifier) of the column where you want to perform a calculation.

    calc

    Specifies the calculation to be performed. The default is no calculation.

    For columns containing numeric data, select from: SUM, AVE, MIN, MAX, CNT, CNT.DST, PCT.TOT

    PCT.TOT values appear in a separate column adjacent to the column for which it is calculated, and styling is inherited from the visualization column.

    For columns containing text (alphanumeric) data, select from: CNT, CNT.DST

  • To control the location of the calculation results row, use 
    TYPE=REPORT, CALC-LOCATION={TOP|BOTTOM}, $

    where:

    TOP

    Specifies the top row of the report as the location of the calculation results. TOP is the default value.

    BOTTOM

    Specifies the bottom row of the report as the location of the calculation results.

  • To control the colors of the calculation results row, use 
    TYPE=REPORT, OBJECT=CALC-AREA, COLOR=color, BACKCOLOR=backcolor, $

    where:

    CALC-AREA

    Specifies the object, which is the calculation results row.

    color

    Specifies the color for the calculation values in the calculation results row. The default value is BLACK and is inherited from the column title font color. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'RED', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(255 255 153).

    backcolor

    Specifies the color for the background in the calculation results row. The default value is WHITE and is inherited from the column title background color. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'GOLD', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(153 51 0).

Syntax: How to Control the Visualization Colors Options

To control the colors of the graphic values used with the visualization option, use 

TYPE=REPORT, GRAPHCOLOR=positivecolor, GRAPHCOLORNEG=negativecolor, $

where:

positivecolor

Specifies the color for the positive values displayed in the optional visualization column. BLACK is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'BLUE', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(255 255 153).

negativecolor

Specifies the color for the negative values displayed in the optional visualization column. BLACK is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'VIOLET', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(153 153 153).

Syntax: How to Control the Freeze Column Options

To control the freeze column options, which determine the column (and all columns to the left) that will freeze when scrolling to the right to view other columns in the report output, use 

TYPE=REPORT, FREEZE-COLUMN=coldesc, $

or

TYPE=REPORT, FREEZE-WIDTH=AUTO, $

where:

coldesc

Specifies the description (column name or identifier) of the column you want to freeze. You can only specify one freeze column, which must be a BY sort field. The default value is none (no freeze column).

AUTO

Enables the report to freeze at a particular column that will be automatically determined by FOCUS for optimal viewing.

If you can view the entire report output on the screen without scrolling, the freeze will not be applied.

Syntax: How to Control Hide Columns Options

To control the hide columns options, which determine the columns that will be hidden from view in the report output, repeat the following for each column you want to hide. 

TYPE=REPORT, COLUMN=coldesc, HIDE={ON|OFF}, $

where:

coldesc

Specifies the description (column name or identifier) of the column you want to hide. You can hide multiple columns, but you cannot hide all columns (at least one column must always be visible).

ON

Enables the option.

OFF

Disables the option. OFF is the default value.

Syntax: How to Display NOPRINT Fields in an Active Technologies Report Menu

To display NOPRINT fields in the active report drop-down menu, use 

TYPE=REPORT, ALLOW-NOPRINT={ON|OFF}, $

where:

ON

Displays all NOPRINT fields in the active report menu.

OFF

Does not display NOPRINT fields in the active report menu. OFF is the default value.

Note: This setting does not affect fields hidden using HIDE=ON syntax. In order to simply hide the field, but make it available for later use in an active report drop-down menu, use HIDE=ON syntax instead.

Syntax: How to Show or Hide Active Technologies Report Menu Options

To control active report menu options available to the users, use 

TYPE=REPORT, ALLOW-feature={ON|OFF}, $

where:

feature

Specifies the feature. Select from:

PAGINATION to enable the use of show records options.

FILTER to enable the use of filtering or highlighting options.

FREEZE to enable the use of freeze column options.

CALC to enable the use of calculation options.

HIDE to enable the use of hide columns options.

CHART to enable the use of chart creating options.

EXPORT to enable the use of exporting options.

VISUALIZE to enable the use of graphical visualization options.

SORT to enable the use of sorting options.

ROLLUP to enable the use of roll-up table options.

PIVOT to enable the use of pivot table options.

COMMENTS to enable the use of comment options.

WINDOW to enable the use of window type options.

RESTORE to enable the use of restore options.

SENDEMAIL to enable the use of send as e-mail options.

SAVECHANGE to enable the use of save changes options.

PRINT to enable the use of print options.

TOOLS to enable the use Chart/Rollup Tool, Pivot Tool, and Grid Tool options.

ON

Enables the option. ON is the default value for all user-controlled options.

OFF

Disables the option.

Controlling the Pagination Options

In this section:

For active reports, you can:

Determining the Number of Rows Per Page and Styling Characteristics

How to:

This topic describes the syntax for determining the number of rows displayed per page and the styling characteristics of the record status and page navigation bar.

Syntax: How to Determine the Number of Rows Per Page and Styling Characteristics

Use the appropriate syntax section that follows.

  • To control the number of rows displayed per page in the output, use 
    TYPE=REPORT, LINES-PER-PAGE={n|UNLIMITED},$

    where:

    n

    Specifies the number of rows displayed on each HTML page. The default value is 20 rows when the LINES-PER-PAGE option is used. Otherwise, the server default value is 57 rows.

    UNLIMITED

    Specifies that you want to show all the results on one HTML page.

  • To control the position, justification, and colors of the record status and page navigation bar, use 
    TYPE=REPORT, OBJECT=STATUS-AREA,PAGE-LOCATION={TOP|BOTTOM},JUSTIFY={LEFT|CENTER|RIGHT},
COLOR=textcolor, BACKCOLOR=backcolor,$

    where:

    STATUS-AREA

    Specifies the object, which is the record status and page navigation bar.

    The record status and page navigation bar show row and page information, where your cursor is positioned, relative to the total number of rows and pages in the report (for example, 10 of 100 records (10.00%), Page 1 of 3).

    PAGE-LOCATION

    Specifies the location of the record status and page navigation bar, which is either at the top of the report above the report header, or at the bottom of the report below the report footer. TOP is the default value.

    JUSTIFY

    Specifies whether you want the information in the record status and page navigation bar to be centered, left-justified, or right-justified. CENTER is the default value.

    textcolor

    Specifies the text color for the record status and page navigation bar. BLACK is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'GREEN', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(153 153 153).

    backcolor

    Specifies the background color for the record status and page navigation bar. SILVER is the default value. Valid values can be either a preset color name in single quotes, for example, 'WHITE', or the RGB (red green blue) numeric values, for example, RGB(51 153 102).

Displaying the Range of Records on a Page

How to:

By default, the strings and parameters used to display the pagination bar are stored in the IRPSTR member of the data set allocated to DDNAME JS.

Procedure: How to Display the Range of Records on a Page

  1. Copy member IRPSTR from the data set allocated to DDNAME JS to your own data set and concatenate your library in front of the data set delivered with FOCUS in your allocation for DDNAME JS.
  2. Open member IRPSTR (from your data set) in a text editor and locate the following code:
    'paglinetext':"<%^%rcs of %trcs records, Page %inds of %pgs%>
<span id='smsg%tn'><\/span>"
  3. Replace the preceding code with this code:
    'paglinetext':"<%^%frcs-%lrcs records, Page %inds of %pgs%>
<span id='smsg%tn'><\/span>"
  4. Save theIRPSTR member file and close the text editor.
  5. Run an active report with format AHTML.

    The pagination bar is displayed as follows. By default, 20 records are displayed on each page. As a result, the customized pagination bar displays a range of 1-20 records on the first page.


    Customized pagination bar

  6. To change the default number of records displayed on each page, use the following StyleSheet declaration:
    TYPE=REPORT,LINES-PER-PAGE=n,$

    where:

    n

    Is the number of lines per page to display.

  7. To change the location of, text justification, text color, and background color of the pagination bar, use the following StyleSheet declaration: 
    TYPE=REPORT,OBJECT=STATUS-AREA,
     JUSTIFY=just,
     PAGE-LOCATION=location,
   COLOR=textcolor,
   BACKCOLOR=backcolor,

    where:

    just

    Is the justification for the text in the pagination bar. Valid values are LEFT, CENTER, or RIGHT. CENTER is the default value.

    location

    Is the location of the pagination bar. Valid values are TOP or BOTTOM. TOP is the default value.

    textcolor

    Specifies the text color, either a color name enclosed in single quotation marks, or a color code in the form RGB(r,g,b). The default value is BLACK.

    backcolor

    Specifies the background color, either a color name enclosed in single quotation marks, or a color code in the form RGB(r,g,b). The default value is SILVER.

    For example, use the following StyleSheet declaration and run the report:

  8. Run the active reportusing the following StyleSheet declaration. 
    TYPE=REPORT, LINES-PER-PAGE=10,
     OBJECT=STATUS-AREA,
     JUSTIFY=LEFT,
     PAGE-LOCATION=BOTTOM,$

    The pagination bar now displays 10 records per page, as shown in the following image. Based on the styling characteristics supplied in the request, the pagination bar appears at the bottom of the page, and the text inside the pagination bar is left-justified.


    Customized page range and styling characteristics

    Tip: You can also specify the number of records to display per page when a report is run. Click Show Records from a drop-down menu on the report. In the following image, 5 Records per page is selected.


    Selecting the number of records per page

Suppressing the Display of the Pagination Bar

You can suppress the display of the pagination bar using FOCUS StyleSheet code. 

ON TABLE SET STYLE *
TYPE=REPORT,
   OBJECT=STATUS-AREA,
   PAGE-LOCATION=OFF,
$
ENDSTYLE

Once you suppress the display of the pagination bar, you can no longer navigate to a page after the first page if the number of records in the report exceeds the records (lines) per page that you set.

User-Controlled Options in an Active Technologies Report

The following options can be implemented only from the user menus in the output of an active report. Basic information for each of these options provides a more comprehensive understanding of this type of report.

Controlling Expiration of an Active Technologies Report

The AREXPIRE parameter enables you to set the date when an active report expires and the report output can no longer be displayed.

The syntax is

SET AREXPIRE = {yymmdd|xxxDAYS}

where:

yymmdd

Is the expiration date in the format of year, month, and day. For example, if you want the report to expire on January 1, 2009, use 090101.

xxx

Is the number of days from the current date that the report expires. Valid values are 1 to 999.

The command can also be issued from within a request using:

ON TABLE SET AREXPIRE {yymmdd|xxxDAYS}

Setting a Password for an Active Technologies Report

The ARPASSWORD parameter enables you to set a password that is required to view active report output. Prior to opening the report output, the user is prompted to enter a password to unlock the report.

The syntax is

SET ARPASSWORD = password

where:

password

Is any character string up to 32 characters in length.

The command can also be issued from within a request using:

ON TABLE SET ARPASSWORD password

Usage Notes for FOCUS Commands and Features

The following is a list of commands and features that are not supported for HTML active reports:

Information Builders