Selecting Report Fields

Begin building your report in the Field selection tab by selecting fields to include. A field is the smallest meaningful element of data in a file.

To enable Tree mode, you click the Tree icon in the Available Fields box. Click the arrow next to the Tree icon to select the Field Tree or the Dimension Tree. The following options appear in a pop-up as you mouse over each field: Segment, Name, Alias, Title, Description, and Format. You can change the field attributes that appear in the tree by selecting from the list shown when clicking on the tree icon. Select from: Name, Alias, Title or Description.

The Report fields section enables you to use the prefix with the segment name or file name. You can also show the alias of the field instead of the field name. You can also show the title or description of the field instead of field name or alias, but title and description cannot be prefixed with the segment name or file name. The qualified field identification cannot exceed 66 characters.

Your selections in the Report Fields menu remain in effect for your current browser session and are automatically saved with your request.

Note: Field names that contain a hyphen (-) cannot be used in the Report Assistant.

Reference: Notes on the Fields List

Joined fields are differentiated by color when the join is performed outside of the Report Assistant, for example in the Join of a Reporting Object. The field list shows fields in different colors based on the Master File they originate from. If you save and then re-open the Report Assistant, the color assigned to the data may be different than was previously assigned. Note that if a join is in the Master File, joined fields do not show in different colors in the fields list.
Key fields are represented with a key icon in all field lists (tree and list displays) in the Report Assistant.
The number of fields that are currently displayed shows at the bottom of the fields list. If a field list contains more than 200 fields, the first 200 fields display initially. Additional fields are retrieved and displayed when you select the next set of fields.
To select the next set of fields, scroll to the bottom of the field list and select the Next option that appears. The Next option describes which fields will be returned, for example, the following image shows that the next 201-400 fields of 417 will be retrieved.
To go back, scroll to the top of the field list and select the previous set of fields. For example, the following image shows the Previous option to select the previous 1-200 of 417 fields.

Fully Qualified Field Names

The Report Assistant always saves a procedure with its fully qualified field name. If you want to view this information, click the Prefix with the segment name and Prefix with the file name options in the Report Fields section of the Field selection tab.

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Example: Viewing Fully Qualified Field Names

Prefix with the segment name and Prefix with the file name are checked. Note that the fields under Sort by demonstrate the field, segment, and file names.

The following image shows the result after selecting both the prefix with segment name and prefix with the file name.

If you open a report procedure in the Editor, the fields appear with their qualifiers prefixed to the field name or alias.

The information for the highlighted field appears. If multiple fields are selected, the information that appears applies to the last field chosen.

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Example: Using Sample Code With Field Qualifiers

The following procedure shows the underlying code generated by Report Assistant. Note that the fields referenced in the request (SALES, COUNTRY, CAR, and MODE) are prefixed with file and segment qualifiers.

TABLE FILE CAR
SUM CAR.BODY.SALES
BY CAR.ORIGIN.COUNTRY AS 'COUNTRY'
BY CAR.COMP.CAR AS 'CAR'
BY CAR.CARREC.MODEL AS 'MODEL'

Once you have qualified a field with an alias, segment name, or file name, the field will appear with these prefixes in any windows in which that field is referenced in a request. You can vary the qualifiers you select for individual fields.

Adding Totals and Grand Totals to a Report

You can add grand total values to the end of your report and add a row total column by checking the appropriate boxes under Report fields as shown in the following image. The Add grand totals drop-down list provides two options. The Totals option displays grand total values for each column in your report. The Recompute Totals option recalculates computed fields before displaying the grand total values. Selecting the Add a row total column check box adds a column to display the totals for each row.

Using the Sort By, Sort Across, and Column Phrases to Organize Data

How to:

Select fields for a report by highlighting a field in the Available fields list and clicking the Add icon above the Sort by, Sort across, or Sum/Print field box. From either the List or Tree view, you can also drag and drop a field on the desired field box, or double-click a field to add it automatically.

Note: When you double-click fields, numeric fields are added to the Sum/Print field box, and non-numeric and date fields are added to the Sort by field box. Numeric fields include decimal, floating point, and other formats, and non-numeric fields are usually in alphanumeric format.

The following image shows a field selected in each of the data field boxes, the COUNTRY field in the Sort across data field box, the CAR in the Sort by data field box, and the SALES field in the Sum/Print display field list.

Specifying sort phrases enables you to organize the presentation of information in a desired sequence. Adding fields to the Sort across fields box establishes the field you selected as a column in your report. You can create a matrix report by combining sort and across phrases. You can include a maximum of five ACROSS fields in each report. If you try to enter a sixth ACROSS field, the following message appears:

The Maximum number of horizontal dimensions is 5.

Adding fields to the Sort by fields box establishes your field as a sort field in your report. Sort fields (also known as BY fields) are rows in your report. Any field can be a sort field and you can include up to 31 sort fields in a report.

The Column data fields box designates the selected field as Sum or Print (Detail). After selecting the field, you must also decide if you want WebFOCUS to add the values together (Sum) or print the values individually (Print). WebFOCUS displays the field you select in the last column of your report and performs the requested operation on the data (Sum or Print). The default selection is Sum.

You must select at least one field for the Sort or Sum/Print field lists to create a report.

For more information on WebFOCUS syntax used in requesting reports, see the Creating Reports With WebFOCUS Language manual.

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Procedure: How to Add Report Fields in Tree or List View

Click the Tree or List icon.
Select a field from the Available fields list and click the Add icon above the Sort by, Sort across, or Sum/Print field box to add the chosen field.
or

Click and hold the left mouse button, and drag the field to the desired field box.

or

Double-click a:
- Numeric field to add it to the Sum/Print field box.
- Non-numeric or date field to add it to the Sort by field box.

Optionally, you can use shortcut keys to quickly go to one of the field boxes.

In the following table, the first column (Field Box) describes where you go when using the shortcut keys and the second column (Shortcut Keys) defines the shortcut key combination.

Field Box

Shortcut Keys

Sort across

Alt+A

Sort by

Alt+S

Column

Alt+C

Field Box	Shortcut Keys
Sort across	Alt+A
Sort by	Alt+S
Column	Alt+C

Press Alt+M, Tab to go to the Available Fields list, tab to the field and press Enter to add the chosen field.

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Procedure: How to Multi-Select Fields in List View

Click the List icon.
If the fields are:
- Adjacent to each other, click the first field you want to select and hold down the Shift key while clicking the last field you want to include in the report.
- Not adjacent to each other, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking the fields you want to include in the report.
Click the Add icon to the Sort across, Sort by, or Column fields box to add the chosen fields.

Note: Selecting multiple fields is only possible when in List mode. You must drag and drop or use the Add icon to add individual fields when in Tree mode.

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Procedure: How to Select a Report Type

To select a report type, click one of the following buttons in the Sum/Print display field list:

Sum. A summary report shows the summarized values of the selected data source fields.
Print. A detailed report shows all selected records from a data source.

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Procedure: How to Delete Report Fields

Select the field in the Sort Across, Sort by, or Column fields box.

Use the shortcut keys to quickly go to one of the field boxes. In the following table the first column (Field Box) describes where you go when using the shortcut keys and the second column (Shortcut Keys) defines the shortcut key combination.

Field Box

Shortcut Keys

Sort across

Alt+A

Sort by

Alt+S

Column

Alt+C

Field Box	Shortcut Keys
Sort across	Alt+A
Sort by	Alt+S
Column	Alt+C

Use the arrow keys to move to the field you wish to delete.

Click the Delete button or press the Delete key.

Using Application Objects

Application Objects enable you to add fields to your report that have been customized for your use. For example, if you are creating a sales report, an Application Object may have been set up for you that enables you to easily add a sort field to your report that lists the top 5 highest sellers for a certain year.

Note: Application Objects are only available when you are building a report using a Reporting Object as a template. If you do not see Application Objects, this means they have not been developed for this Reporting Object.

The following image shows a few sample Application Objects as they appear in the Field selection tab of the Report Assistant. They are listed by Name and Type.

You add Application Objects to your report from the Field selection tab in the Report Assistant. When you double-click the object you want to add to your report, it is automatically added to the appropriate list in the Field selection tab. For example, if it is a BY sort object it is added to the Sort by list.

Field options are not available for Application Objects. If you open the Field Options pane for an Application Object, the following message appears: No options are available for Application Objects. You can use Global Styling for these fields, which is available in the Report options tab.

Searching Field Lists

How to:

You can search the field list on the Field selection tab, Report Headings tab, Selection criteria tab, and Join options tab (for the host Master File) in the Report Assistant. You can search by the following Master File attributes: Name, Alias, Title, Format, Description, Segment, and Filename.

When you apply a search to a field list, your search results appear in all other areas of the tool, until you reset the field list. Your search results are saved when you exit the tool, so when you open the procedure again, you only see the results of your search in the field list.

Note:

The field list that appears for conditional styling is already restricted to the fields selected for the report and is not further restricted by the search string.
Search options are available when viewing fields in List mode. It is not available when viewing fields in Tree mode.

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Procedure: How to Search a Field List

In the Field selection tab, Headings tab, or Selection criteria tab in the Report Assistant, click Show - Field list searching.
If you are searching for a field name from the Join options tab, click the Field list searching icon.

The Field list searching dialog box opens.

The following image shows the Field list searching dialog box. It contains a drop-down list for what pattern you want to search by, a text box, and a submit button.

Select the Master File attribute for which you want to search. The following table lists the pattern attributes and a description of each.

Attribute

Description

DSPFFD Equivalent

Filename

Name of the data source.

File

Name

Name of the field.

Field

Alias

Alias for the field.

Alternative Name

Title

Display title for the field, as defined in the Master File.

Column Heading

Format

Field format, for example A4.

Data Type

Description

Field description, as defined in the Master File.

N/A

Segment

A segment of fields in the Master File.

N/A

Attribute	Description	DSPFFD Equivalent
Filename	Name of the data source.	File
Name	Name of the field.	Field
Alias	Alias for the field.	Alternative Name
Title	Display title for the field, as defined in the Master File.	Column Heading
Format	Field format, for example A4.	Data Type
Description	Field description, as defined in the Master File.	N/A
Segment	A segment of fields in the Master File.	N/A

Type your search string. You can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard. For example, type c* to find all fields that begin with the letter "c". The character string is not case sensitive.

Click the right arrow

and results appear in the field list.

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Procedure: How to Reset the Field List After a Search

In the Field selection tab, Headings tab, or Selection criteria tab in the Report Assistant, click Show - Field list searching.
If you are searching for a field name from the Join options tab, click the Field list searching icon.

The Field list searching dialog box opens.
Enter a blank value (space bar) or an asterisk (*) and click the arrow .
The field list is reset to the default display, which is to show all fields.