Working with Reports

You have the ability to create custom reports directly in Mouse Tracks.  This reporting feature allows you to create reports from single tables, joined tables and by entering custom SQL statements. 

Deleting a Report
Select a report from the list and click Delete.  Be aware that you cannot undo the deletion.  Also, you will not be allowed to delete any of the reports that ship with Mouse Tracks.

Viewing a Report
Double click on the report in the report list.

Designing a Report
To add a report to Mouse Tracks, click the Add command from the Report List.  Otherwise, select the report you wish to design and click the design command (it is not recommended to change the design of the built-in reports).

Report Title
This is a descriptive name for the report and must be unique.

Report Category - This is the category to which the report will be assigned. 

• Inventory requires Mouse Tracks Inventory privileges.
• Purchasing requires Mouse Tracks Purchaser privileges.
• Help Desk requires Mouse Tracks Technician privileges.

Report Owner (optional)
If you select a report owner, the report will be only available to the report owner listed.  If you create the report and select a different user ID for the owner, you will be unable to design or view it in the future.

If the report does not have an owner, it will be viewable and designable by all users who have access to the report category.

Report Type
Single Table Report - a single table report is ideal for most simple reporting needs.  After selecting a table, you will be able to add any of the fields contained in this table to your report.

Joined Table Report - a joined table report is a little more complex than a single table report because it combines the results of two tables into one report.  After choosing this option, you must select a predefined join clause in the database.  Most of the descriptions for the joins are self explanatory.  After selecting a join clause, you will be able to add any of the fields from the joined tables to your report.

Join Type -- If you selected a Joined table report, you then need to select a Join Type.  There are three types of joins from which you can select.

• INNER JOIN -- Include records from the tables where the Join Fields are equal.
• LEFT JOIN -- Include all records from the Source Table and only the records in the Join Table where the Joined Fields are equal.
• RIGHT JOIN -- Include all records from the Join Table and only records from the Source Table where the Joined Fields are equal.

In the computer disk report example listed above, an INNER JOIN would not show computer records that do not have disks.  A LEFT JOIN would show all Computer Records even if the Computer does not have any disks.  A RIGHT JOIN wouldn't really apply to this report since all disks in the database are assigned to computers.  So a RIGHT JOIN here would give you the same results as a LEFT JOIN.

Create a Report Using a Custom SQL Statement
Select this option to create a report using a custom SQL statement (for advanced users who are familiar will SQL).

Note:
Once you have started to add fields to your report, you will be unable to change the report type.

Selecting Fields for your report
If you selected a single table report or a joined table report, you then can add fields to the report field list.  To insert a field in the report field list, simply drag a field from the available field list and drop it into the report field list.  Click the up/down arrows to change the order of the fields in the report. 

If you would like the report field to be calculated, put a check mark next to the aggregate function that you would like to use. Only items in the report detail section can contain calculations.  You cannot calculate on a field that you group by, or on a field that is in a group header.

Sort by
You can sort by any of the fields available to the report.  Simply select the field you wish to sort from the drop down combo box.

Group by (optional)
This is an optional field.  If you select a field to group on, you must include the field in the report.  For a Joined table report, you can only select a field that is in the primary table.

Group by this field before join field
This only applies to joined table reports.  When you select a joined table report, one grouping level is automatically added.  In the above example, the computer details are grouped by the first field in the report from the primary table.  If that field was CPU Type, and you decided to also group on Operating System and group by Operating System first, your report would group as follows...

Windows XP
     Computer Details
          <disk details>

If you grouped on CPU type first, your report would group as follows...

Intel Pentium IV
     Computer Details
          <disk details>

Show Calculation Header?
If you have one or more fields in the detail section that contain calculations, you can choose to show the description of the calculation in the detail footer.  For example, if you chose Sum for Disk Space(GB), the detail footer would print 'Sum(Disk Space Free(GB)) [Value]'.  If you do not display the calculation header, the report would simply print the [value] in the detail footer.

Prompt for Filter on Open?
If you choose this option, you will see the report filter screen before your report is rendered.  If you have a large report that will return many records, it may save the user some time if the dataset can be filtered before the report is opened.  You may also want to choose this option if you frequently filter the report.  You will be able to filter on all fields for the report's underlying tables.  You do not need to add a field to the report to filter on it.  For example, you could create a computer report and filter for a specific operating system without including the operating system field in the report.

Page Setup
Use the page setup option to set the default margins, paper size, orientation and default printer for the report.  Mouse Tracks automatically sizes the fields so that they will print on the report.  However, sometimes the headers and detail lines will overflow to the next line so they will fit on the report.  You can change a report's orientation to landscape, or reduce the reports left and right margin to minimize the word wrap on the reports.  This information is then saved to the report record.  Keep in mind that all Mouse Tracks users share these reports.  It may not be possible to set a default printer for a report if multiple users will be viewing the report.  Standard features supported by all printers such as margins, paper size, and page orientation will still be saved to the report.

Created using Helpmatic Pro HTML