The
Maintenance module allows you to maintain all of the
reports that will be generated along with parameter information,
output location and other information. Below is the first,
general screen showing the general information that will
pertain to all reports or be used as defaults for new
reports as they are created:
There are system
variables that can be used for parameter substitution.
These variables are "date oriented" variables
since this is the most common source of frustration when
auto-generating reports.
Beyond the system
variables, you can define your own variables for use
as parameter substitutions. For example, if you have
various GL locations for which you wish to run reports,
rather than hard-coding the start and end locations for
each report, you can create variables. That way, when
a new location is added, or one is removed, you simply
change the variables rather than all of the reports that
use the variables.
Each report has
entries for name, output location, output file name,
report frequency (daily, monthly, etc.), DSN information
and parameters.
When you define
the report frequency, there is a calendar tool that will
help make the selection of weekly, monthly or annually
date requirements easy.
To define parameters,
use the "Add", "Edit" or "Delete"
buttons in the parameter list. When you add or edit a parameter,
you will be able to define the type, the scope (single
value, range or mutliple values) and the values or variables
you want to use for the parameter:
When the reports
run, a log file is created and each report's output will
placed the specified output directory with the output
file name specified. If only a prefix is specified, the
output name will also have a date and time stamp making
it easy to archive reports for later viewing.
Setting the report
generator to run overnight means that management will
have fresh reports as soon as they walk in the office.
For companies that require this, you can set this to
run more than once during the day, constantly updating
the data. This allows good business decisions with up
to date information.
The actual report
generation process can be set as a scheduled task, so
complete control is available.
To view the reports
that have been generated, you will probably setup an
intranet webpage with links to all of the reports as
the output format is Adobe Acrobat PDF.
TechAnalysts
also helps with website development,
both intranet and internet as well as custom
programming, so if you need the program customized
to your requirements, we are more than happy to help
you get the most out of our products.
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