Reporting Objects

In this section:

How to:

Reporting Objects are stored in the Reporting Objects folder. The Reporting Objects folder contains simple views of your data that users access to create their own reports. You begin creating a Reporting Object by first defining a Reporting Object group folder. You organize the Reporting Objects under group folders.

After you define a group folder, you define one or more Reporting Objects in that folder. The Reporting Objects that you create can include selection criteria (WHEREs), JOINs, virtual fields (DEFINEs), Filters, and other FOCUS statements, as well as Reports and Graphs, which you supply as templates. You use these Reporting Object components to define the Reporting Objects that are available to the Managed Reporting user environment.


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Procedure: How to Create a Reporting Object Group Folder and Subgroup Folder

  1. In either Developer Studio or the Managed Reporting Applet Domain Builder, expand the domain in which you want to add a Reporting Object by clicking the plus sign (+) next to the domain name.
  2. Right-click the Reporting Objects folder and:
    • In Developer Studio, select New Group. A new folder named New Folder appears in the right pane.
    • In Domain Builder, select New Reporting Object Group. The New Reporting Object Group dialog box opens.
  3. Name the new group folder, as follows:
    • In Developer Studio, in the right pane, replace the default folder name, New Folder, with a descriptive name for the new Reporting Objects folder.
    • In Domain Builder, in the Name field, type a descriptive name for the new Reporting Objects folder, and click OK.

      The new Reporting Object group folder appears below the Reporting Object component folder.

  4. To create a new Reporting Object subgroup folder, right-click the Reporting Object group folder and:
    • In Developer Studio, select New, then Subgroup from the drop-down menu.

      A new folder named New Folder appears in the right pane under the selected group folder.

    • In Domain Builder, select New Reporting Object, then New Folder from the drop-down menu.

      The New Reporting Object Group dialog box opens.

  5. To name and save the folder, see Step 3. The new Reporting Object subgroup folder appears under the Reporting Object group folder.

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Procedure: How to Define a Reporting Object

After you have defined the Reporting Object group folder, you can create the actual Reporting Object.

  1. In the browser, right-click a Reporting Object group folder, select New Reporting Object, then New Reporting Object.

    In Developer Studio, right-click a Reporting Object group folder, select New Reporting Object, and then Reporting Object.

    The New Reporting Object dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    The New Reporting Object dialog box

  2. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the Reporting Object.
  3. Optionally, check Server and choose a server from the drop-down list.
  4. Optionally, check Application Path to choose your application and override the server default search path.

    See Working With the Server and Application Path Properties in the Creating Domains section of the WebFOCUS Managed Reporting Administrator's Manual.

    Note: You must have the Data Server privilege to change the Server and Application Path.

  5. In the Data File field, type the name of a data description to be associated with the Reporting Object.

    You can also click File to browse the available files. Select the data description and click OK to return to the New Reporting Object dialog box.

  6. WebFOCUS offers the following optional features when creating your Reporting Object:
    • If you check the Prompt for Parameters check box, WebFOCUS prompts the user to supply a value (parameter) when the Reporting Object is used to create a My Report.
    • If you check Show as Standard Report, WebFOCUS lists the Reporting Object under the Standard Reports tab in addition to the Reporting Objects tab in the Domains reporting environment. A user can then run the Reporting Object as if it was a Standard Report.
    • If you check Show Only as Standard Report, WebFOCUS will only display the Reporting Object under the Standard Reports tab in the Domains environment.

      Caution: When you create a Reporting Object, do not click the Report Painter button on the Report Assistant window unless you also check Show Only as Standard Report on the New Reporting Object window. You cannot open Reporting Objects created with Report Painter with the Report Assistant in Managed Reporting. However, you can run a Reporting Object when it is shown as a Standard Report.

    • If you check Run with OLAP and you have OLAP-enabled the Reporting Object, users can run the Reporting Object using OLAP capabilities.
    • If you check Only run as a Deferred Report, WebFOCUS always submits this report in deferred mode.

      See the WebFOCUS Managed Reporting End User's Manual for more information.

    • If you check Use InfoAssist to create components, then InfoAssist will be the only Reporting tool available from the drop-down list to open this Object in Business Intelligence Dashboard.
  7. Click OK.

    The Managed Reporting Domain Builder in the browser displays the new group folder and Reporting Object.

    Note: You may be prompted for WebFOCUS Server credentials when you click the File button or OK button, depending on your environment.


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Procedure: How to Review Reporting Object Properties

  1. Expand the domain that contains the Reporting Object you want to review.
  2. Expand the Reporting Objects folder and then expand the Reporting Objects group folder that contains the Reporting Object.
  3. Right-click the Reporting Object you want to review, and select Properties. The Reporting Object Properties dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    This dialog box lists the name of the Reporting Object, the date the Reporting Object was created, the file name for the Reporting Object, and the HTML launch page that can be used to run the Reporting Object.

  4. To:
    • Change the Reporting Object name, type a new name in the Name input box.
    • Select amper auto prompting, check the Prompt for Parameters check box.
    • Display as a Standard Report, check Show as Standard Report.
    • Display only as a Standard Report, check Show Only as Standard Report.
    • OLAP-enable the report, check the Run with OLAP check box.
    • Only run the report in deferred mode, check the Only run as Deferred Report check box.
    • Select a server, check the Server check box, and select a server from the drop-down list.
    • Select an application, check the Application Path check box. Select an application from the drop-down list. In the browser, click the ellipsis button to open a separate window that lists the applications from which you can select. See Working With the Server and Application Path Properties in the Creating Domains section of the WebFOCUS Managed Reporting Administrator's Manual.
  5. Click OK to save your changes or click Cancel to discard your changes.

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Cutting or Copying and Pasting a Reporting Object

When you copy or cut and paste a Reporting Object, Managed Reporting evaluates the request based on the destination location and whether or not the internal name and/or the display name of the source file exists in the destination location. When you paste a Reporting Object, one of the following scenarios occur:


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