1. In the Domain Tree, expand the Reporting Objects folder, then expand the desired subfolder.
2. Right-click a Reporting Object and select InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant, or Graph Assistant.

   Note: The reporting tools available depend upon the WebFOCUS Client license key configuration and the Dashboard configuration set by your Managed Reporting Administrator. If InfoAssist was used to create the Reporting Object, then the only reporting tool available from this option list will be InfoAssist.

3. Create the report.

   For details on using:

   • InfoAssist, see the InfoAssist User’s Manual.
   • Power Painter, see the Creating Compound Reports With Power Painter manual.
   • Report Assistant, see the Creating Reports With Report Assistant manual.
   • Graph Assistant, see the Creating Charts With Graph Tools manual.
4. Select the domain in which you want to save the report from the Look in drop-down menu in the InfoAssist or Power Painter Save dialog box or from the Save in drop-down menu in the Report Assistant or Graph Assistant Save dialog box and click Save.

   Note: The Save In and Look In drop-down menus are lists of the domains to which you are authorized to save reports. When the Save dialog box opens, the initial Save In or Look In value is the folder of the domain from which you ran the report. If the domain from which you ran the report is restricted not to allow the creation of My Reports, the Save In or Look In value will default to the first domain, in alphabetical order, where you are authorized to create My Reports. If there are no domains listed, contact your Managed Reporting Administrator to obtain authorization to save My Reports to a domain.

To delete a report or folder in My Reports, right-click the report or folder and select Delete from the menu.

Note:

• Create or edit only one report at a time when using InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant, or Graph Assistant.
• If you log off Dashboard without first closing the Report or Graph Assistant, you must manually close the tools.

Copying a Shared Report and saving it as a My Report enables you to edit the report or graph without affecting the original. For details, see How to Copy a Shared Report.

1. In the Domain Tree, expand the My Reports folder.
2. Right-click the Custom Reports folder and select one of the following reporting tools:
   • InfoAssist to create a report or chart using InfoAssist.
   • Power Painter to create a report, graph, or page layout using Power Painter.
   • Report Assistant to create a report using Report Assistant.
   • Graph Assistant to create a graph using Graph Assistant.
   • Editor to create a report or graph using the Dashboard text editor.

   Note: The reporting tools available depend upon the WebFOCUS Client license key configuration and the Dashboard configuration set by your Managed Reporting Administrator.

   If you have selected InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant, or Graph Assistant, you will be prompted to select a data source from which you want to report, then click OK to continue.

   The selected tool opens.

3. Design and then save your Custom Report.

   The report is saved in a subfolder within the My Reports folder.

   For details on using:

   • InfoAssist, see the InfoAssist User’s Manual.
   • Power Painter, see the Creating Compound Reports With Power Painter manual.
   • Report Assistant, see the Creating Reports With Report Assistant manual.
   • Graph Assistant, see the Creating Charts With Graph Tools manual.
   • Editor, see Dashboard Text Editor.

1. In the Domain Tree, expand the My Reports folder, then expand the Custom Reports folder.
2. Right-click the existing report that you want to copy or move.
3. Perform one of the following:
   • To copy a report, select Copy.

     Use when you want to create a copy. Copy and Paste within Custom Reports always creates a new file with a new internal name because all the My Reports for a user are stored in a single directory. Managed Reporting uses the internal name to access the report, as well as in procedures to reference drill downs, -INCLUDE statements, and style sheet attributes. For more information on running reports with -INCLUDE, see Execution of a Custom Report Using -INCLUDE.

   • To move a report, select Cut.

     Use when you want to move a report to a different folder within Custom Reports. The internal file name does not change.

4. Right-click a Custom Reports folder.
5. Select Paste.

   When you copy or cut and paste a file within a user My Reports Custom Reports folder, Dashboard evaluates the request based on the destination folder and whether or not the internal name and/or the display name of the source file exists in the destination folder. This is because all the reports a user creates are stored in a single directory in the MR Repository. All folders are virtual directories that allow you to organize your reports. Folder information is stored in the user metadata (.htm) file located in the user directory within the MR Repository.

   If you paste a file in the same My Reports Custom Reports folder, Dashboard creates a new file with a new internal name. Because it is within the same folder, Dashboard assumes you want to make a copy. A copy number is appended to the name of the copied file and Dashboard creates a new internal name for this file.

   For example, when you copy and paste a file named Sales Summary within the same My Reports Custom Reports folder, the copy appears in the Dashboard tree as Sales Summary (Copy #), as shown in the following image. The new internal name is sales_summary_copy_1.fex (special characters and spaces are replaced with underscores).

   

   If you copy and paste a file to a different My Reports Custom Reports folder, the Confirm Create New File dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

   

   This dialog box notifies you that the internal name already exists in the folder and asks you to confirm that you want to make a copy of the source file with a new internal name.

   If you confirm the copy, a copy number is appended to the name of the copied file, as shown in the following image, and Dashboard creates a new internal name for this file.

   

   Note: After pasting a file, you can change the name that displays in the Dashboard tree of the user interface using the Properties option. This does not change the internal name (filename.ext) of the file. For more information on Custom Reports properties, see Editing a Custom Report and its Properties.

1. In the Domain Tree, expand the My Reports folder.
2. Right-click Custom Reports and select New Folder.
3. Enter a name for the new folder in the New Folder dialog box and click Save.
4. The new folder appears in the Custom Reports folder.

To delete a folder in Custom Reports, right-click the folder and select Delete.

Edit only one report at a time when using InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant, or Graph Assistant.

1. In the Domain Tree, expand the My Reports folder, then expand the Custom Reports folder.
2. Right-click the desired Custom Report and select the tool you created the report with (InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant or Graph Assistant) or select Editor to edit the report code manually in the Dashboard text editor.

   For details on using:

   • InfoAssist, see the InfoAssist User’s Manual.
   • Power Painter, see the Creating Compound Reports With Power Painter manual.
   • Report Assistant, see the Creating Reports With Report Assistant manual.
   • Graph Assistant, see the Creating Charts With Graph Tools manual.
   • Editor, see Dashboard Text Editor.

     Note: After editing with the Dashboard text editor, you will not be able to use reporting or graphing tools to open reports created using InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant, or Graph Assistant because the tools cannot read some user-added syntax.

3. Edit the report as necessary and save any changes.
4. To change the name of the custom report, click the report and select Properties.
5. Edit the name in the Description text box.
6. Click OK.

You can use the text editor to create, view, edit, and run the source code for Custom Reports in Dashboard. The text editor enables you to use familiar editing techniques, such as cut, copy, and paste. You can also find and replace text and specify case.

Note: After editing with the Dashboard text editor, you will not be able to use reporting or graphing tools to open reports created with InfoAssist, Power Painter, Report Assistant, or Graph Assistant because the tools cannot read some user-added syntax.

The following image shows the text editor with a sample file in the editing window.

The following table describes all of the functions available in the Dashboard text editor. The first column lists the buttons, and the second column lists the actions they produce.

When you create reports and graphs, you may want to share them with others in your organization. The Shared Reports feature addresses this need by enabling you to create reports and graphs and make them available to other users who access the same domain.

By designating a report as shared, you allow other users to run it from the Shared Reports folder in the Domain Tree. Other users cannot edit a Shared Report in the Shared Reports folder, but they can copy a Shared Report to their own My Reports folder and then edit the copied report without affecting the original. All users who access the Domain Tree have the ability to view, run, and copy Shared Reports. Note that users with the User role cannot copy Shared Reports.

Only users who have been granted the Shared privilege by their Administrator can share a My Report. The My Reports that you contribute appear in the Shared Reports folder of other users and display the Shared Report icon. These reports also appear in your My Reports folder displaying the same Shared Report icon to denote that they have been made available to others. Note that Custom Reports can be shared in the same manner as My Reports.

The Shared Reports folder in the Domain Tree consists of folders named for other users who contributed Shared Reports. All the reports contributed by a particular user appear under the Shared Reports folder in a subfolder named for the Reporting Objects group folder, Custom Reports folder, or Custom Reports subfolder where the report was created. Shared Reports are available to all other Managed Reporting users who can access the same domain. Note that reports that you share are not listed in your own Shared Reports folder.

The following image shows three Shared Reports contributed by a user named Jeff who created and shared the reports from three different locations: the Custom Reports folder, a Custom Reports subfolder, and a Reporting Objects group folder named Test IA.

The Shared Reports folder enables you to:

• Run a Shared Report immediately by clicking the report.
• Run a Shared Report at a later time by right-clicking the report and selecting Run Deferred.
• Save the Shared Report to your My Reports folder by right-clicking the report and selecting Save As My Report. For details, see How to Copy a Shared Report.
• View the information about the Shared Report by right-clicking the report and selecting Properties. For details, see Dashboard Properties.
• View Report Library content (if applicable) by right-clicking the report and selecting Library Versions. For details about using the Library Versions option to view Report Library content, see Viewing Reports in the Report Library.
• Schedule the distribution of the Shared Report (if applicable) by right-clicking the report and selecting Schedule. For details about using the Schedule option, see your ReportCaster documentation.
• Add a Shared Report to your Favorites list by right-clicking the report and selecting Add to Favorites.
• Add a Shared Report to your Mobile Favorites list by right-clicking the report and selecting Add to Mobile Favorites.
• Ensure that you are viewing the most current list of Shared Reports by clicking the Refresh Contents icon, located in the top right corner of the Domain Tree panel.
• Check the status of a Shared Report that has been run deferred by clicking Utilities in the Dashboard banner and selecting Deferred Status in the menu to open the Deferred Report Status Interface window.

In Dashboard, you can upload (import) external data files for use in WebFOCUS reporting tools. This functionality enables you to easily create a WebFOCUS file description and data file for use in your reporting application. The Upload Data File option is enabled by default and is available to all users with access to the Custom Reports folder of the Domain Tree.

The amper auto-prompting facility enables you to select parameters and run the report while still being able to view and change your parameter selections. You can also display and hide parameters to widen the screen as needed. For example, the following image shows a report that requires parameter selection.

After you run the report, the output appears, as shown in the following image.

#idBannerDiv {
height:41px; 
background-image:url(style/logo_banner_TOP.gif); 
background-position:top left;
background-repeat:no-repeat; 
margin:0px;
margin-top:0px;
cursor:pointer; }

<describe_xsl>template</describe_xsl>

You can save parameter selection values as a My Report for reports that run immediately or run deferred. By default, these reports are saved in the Saved Parameter Reports folder that is automatically created under the My Reports folder, but you can save parameter reports anywhere in the My Reports folder structure. If the domain of the report whose parameter selection values you are using is restricted not to allow the creation of My Reports, select another domain. If there are no domains listed, contact your Managed Reporting Administrator to obtain authorization to save My Reports to a domain.

You can also replace an existing Managed Reporting HTML form or procedure (FEX) when saving a Saved Parameter report. The replacement requires that the selected file must be the same type (HTML or FEX) as the file being saved. There are two cases for saving a Saved Parameter report:

• HTML, when saved using the Save Values option in an HTML form created by HTML Composer
• FEX, when saved from Amper Autoprompt form.

If the selected file type is not the same as the content being saved, you will receive the following message

To replace a file, the file types must be the same.

Click OK to close the message and return to the Saved Parameters dialog box, where you can choose another file or type a file name.

If the file name you type exists for the same file type (FEX or HTML), you will receive a message stating that the file name already exists. Click Replace to overwrite the existing file, or click Cancel to return to the Saved Parameters dialog box.

Note: Administrators and Developers can save parameter selection values as Standard Reports.

When you select Run from the menu options for Saved Parameter Reports, the saved values are used to run the report and the prompt form does not display. When you select Edit Parameters, the prompt form appears so you can make changes to the values before running the request. You can Run Deferred, which also shows the prompt form before running the request. Additional menu items for Saved Parameter Reports that are available from Dashboard are Delete, Add to Favorites, Add to Mobile Favorites, and Properties. You can also schedule the report for later execution if you have scheduling capabilities.

Note:

• Saving parameter selections is only available if you have been assigned the Save entered values privilege by your administrator.
• Multi-select drop-down list values are not selected when you view the launch form for the My Report with saved parameters.
• Prior to Version 7 Release 7.02, the Saved Parameter report and the report from which it was created must reside in the same Managed Reporting Domain. If you copy a Saved Parameter report created prior to Version 7 Release 7.02 from one domain to another, you must also copy the original report to the target domain.
• When creating multiple saved parameter reports for the same report or graph, if the report or graph was created in Version 7 Release 6 and earlier, it is recommended that you create all of the Saved Parameter reports from the same procedure that contains the report or graph request. This is recommended because prior to Version 7 Release 6.1, a saved parameter report has a reference to the procedure (FEX) from which it was created. If you create a saved parameter report from an existing saved parameter report, the new saved parameter report has a reference to the prior saved parameter report, which has a reference to the original report or graph procedure. This creates a series of chained dependent procedures, and if one of the chained procedures is deleted, the reports with references to the deleted procedure will no longer run successfully.
• If you are a Developer or Managed Reporting Administrator, you can save Saved Parameter reports to the Standard Reports or Other Files folders. Note that the Edit Parameters menu option is not available for auto prompt reports that are saved with parameter values in the Standard Reports or Other Files folders. You can edit parameter values from the launch form or edit the –DEFAULT values for the procedure (FEX) using the text editor. When you run a Saved Parameter report from these folders, the auto prompt form launches with the saved parameter values selected.
• Consider the following when you save a parameter report from an HTML form created with HTML Composer:
  • In Version 7 Release 6.9 and higher, the report is saved as a HTML form and not a procedure (FEX), and therefore, cannot be scheduled. (For more information, see Version 7 Release 6.1 and higher Upgrade Considerations.) You can schedule the report from the HTML form if it includes the Schedule option. For information on adding ReportCaster scheduling capabilities to a form, see Designing a User Interface for a Web Application With the HTML Composer manual.
  • In Version 7 Release 7, because Saved Parameter reports created from an HTML Composer form with Save Value option should not be edited due to their internal structure, the Restrict Developer Access property is enabled for these reports. Even though Managed Reporting Administrators can edit Saved Parameter reports, we recommend that they not because changes to these reports could render them unusable.