HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Chapter 2 DEFINING A REPORT
The steps required to define a simple report can be summarized as
follows:
* Choose option 1, DEFINE A REPORT, on the Main Menu.
* Tell INFORM/V whether you will use data from a Group or a database,
and supply the name of that Group or base.
* Choose the names of data items that you want to include in the
report.
* Provide a title for the report.
Figure 2-1 represents the menus that are used in the process of defining
a report. Beginning on the Main Menu, you call up the Data Organization
Menu, then either the Group or Database Menu, depending on where your
data is located, and finally the Data Names Menu, where you decide what
data to include in the report.
These menus, and the details of moving through them, are the subject of
the following paragraphs.
![[]](../../pic3k/M010001/F02013c50.gif)
Figure 2-1. The Menus Used in Defining a Report
After you have gained access to the INFORM/V program (and entered the
necessary passwords), INFORM/V displays the Main Menu, shown in Figure
2-2.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
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| INFORM OPTIONS: |
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| 1: DEFINE A REPORT |
| 2: DISPLAY REPORT CATALOG |
| 3: SELECT A REPORT DEFINITION |
| 4: PREVIEW REPORT LAYOUT |
| 5: PRODUCE THE REPORT |
| 6: ADD REPORT DEFINITION TO CATALOG |
| 7: DELETE A REPORT DEFINITION FROM CATALOG |
| 8: SET OPTIONS |
| 9: MODIFY THE REPORT |
| 10: EXIT FROM INFORM/V |
| |
| TYPE AN OPTION NUMBER> 1 |
| |
| |
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Figure 2-2. The Main Menu--Choosing to Define a Report
To define a report, type a 1 in response to the prompt
TYPE AN OPTION NUMBER>
INFORM/V will then display the Data Organization Menu, shown in Figure
2-3.
The Data Organization Menu
As the Data Organization Menu shows, it is possible to report from two
different kinds of structures: INFORM/V Groups and databases.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
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| DATA ORGANIZATION |
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| INFORM/V GROUPS: |
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| 1: DISPLAY GROUP NAMES |
| 2: SELECT A GROUP |
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| DATA BASE ONLY: |
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| 3: DISPLAY DATA BASE NAMES |
| 4: SELECT A DATA BASE |
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| TYPE A NUMBER> 1 |
| |
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Figure 2-3. The Data Organization Menu--Reporting from Groups
The INFORM/V Group is a special collection of data item names that has
been established expressly to meet the reporting needs of your department
or organization. The database administrator defines a Group and stores
the definition in the data dictionary, using the data management software
called DICTIONARY/V. Data that makes up an INFORM/V Group may be stored
in KSAM files, MPE/V files, or TurboIMAGE databases. The actual storage
structure is not important once the Group has been established. For
information about how to set up INFORM/V Groups, see Section 11.
Your database administrator can tell you whether INFORM/V Groups have
been established for your organization or whether you can report directly
from the databases.
Notice that there are four options on the Data Organization Menu shown in
Figure 2-3. All four lead to the same point: the Data Names Menu
(Figure 2-12), where you choose the names of data items that are to be
included in the report. The intermediate steps are simply ways of
zeroing in on the particular collection of data names from which you want
to report. The paragraphs below discuss each of these four options in
turn. Figure 2-4 graphically represents the four options shown on the
Data Organization Menu in Figure 2-3, and shows that all four paths lead
to the same menu.
Selecting Data from an INFORM/V Group
To define a report from a Group, you may use either option 1 or 2 on the
Data Organization menu. Option 1 is used if you need to see the names of
the Groups available for reporting. Option 2 is used if you already know
the name of the Group that you want to use.
Option 1: Display Group Names. If you select option 1 on the Data
Organization Menu, INFORM/V displays the Group Menu, which lists all the
INFORM/V Groups to which you have access. An example of a Group menu is
shown in Figure 2-5.
INFORM/V then prompts you to select one of the Groups by printing
TYPE A GROUP NUMBER>
Enter the number of one of the Groups listed on the menu.
![[]](../../pic3k/M010001/F02043c50.gif)
Figure 2-4. The Four Options on the Data Organization Menu
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986 |
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| INFORM/V GROUPS |
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| 1: ORDER INFORMATION 4: SHIPPING INFORMATION |
| 2: CREDIT INFORMATION 5: ACCOUNTING INFORMATION|
| 3: MFG MANAGER |
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| TYPE A GROUP NUMBER> 3 |
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Figure 2-5. Group Menu
In the example in Figure 2-5, the user chooses Group 3, MFG MANAGER.
After you select a Group number, the next display will be either a
Subgroup Menu or the Data Names Menu. The database administrator has the
option of creating subgroups within Groups, and may do so to simplify
data presentation in complex Groups. If subgroups exist in your account,
the next menu you see will be a Subgroup Menu. An example is shown in
Figure 2-6.
If no subgroups have been defined for the chosen Group, INFORM/V goes
directly to the Data Names Menu, shown in Figure 2-12.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986 |
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| NAMES OF INFORM/V SUBGROUPS IN MFG MANAGER |
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| 1: INVENTORY 2: WAREHOUSES 3: LEAD TIME|
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| TYPE A SUBGROUP NUMBER> 1 |
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Figure 2-6. Subgroup Menu
On the Subgroup Menu, you select the subgroup that contains the data
names you want. In the example in Figure 2-6, the user chooses the
INVENTORY subgroup. INFORM/V will next display the Data Names Menu for
that Subgroup.
Option 2: Select a Group. When you know the name of the INFORM/V Group
from which you want to create a report, you can bypass the Group Menu and
go to the Subgroup Menu or go directly to the Data Names Menu. To do so,
choose option 2 on the Data Organization Menu in response to the prompt
TYPE A NUMBER>
INFORM/V immediately displays the following prompt:
TYPE THE INFORM/V GROUP NAME>
Figure 2-7 shows an example of a Data Organization Menu with this
interaction.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
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| DATA ORGANIZATION |
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| INFORM/V GROUPS: |
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| 1: DISPLAY GROUP NAMES |
| 2: SELECT A GROUP |
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| DATA BASE ONLY: |
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| 3: DISPLAY DATA BASE NAMES |
| 4: SELECT A DATA BASE |
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| TYPE A NUMBER> 2 |
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| TYPE THE INFORM/V GROUP NAME> MFG MANAGER |
| |
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Figure 2-7. Skipping the Group Menu by Selecting a Group Name
If the Group has Subgroups, the Subgroup Menu comes up next. If not,
INFORM/V goes directly to the Data Names Menu for the Group specified.
Selecting Data from a Database
To define a report from a database, you may use either option 3 or 4 on
the Data Organization Menu. Option 3 is used if you need to see the
names of the databases available for reporting. Option 4 is used if you
already know the name of the database that you want to use.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
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| DATA ORGANIZATION |
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| INFORM/V GROUPS: |
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| 1: DISPLAY GROUP NAMES |
| 2: SELECT A GROUP |
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| DATA BASE ONLY: |
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| 3: DISPLAY DATA BASE NAMES |
| 4: SELECT A DATA BASE |
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| TYPE A NUMBER> 3 |
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Figure 2-8. The Data Organization Menu--Reporting from Databases
Option 3: Display Database Names. If you decide to look at the database
names, choose option 3", as in the example in Figure 2-8. INFORM/V then
displays the Database Menu; an example is shown in Figure 2-9.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
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| DATA BASE NAMES |
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| 1: ORDMGT 2: FINANC 3: MANUFG |
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| TYPE A DATA BASE NUMBER> 1 |
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Figure 2-9. The Database Menu
On the Database Menu, when the prompt
TYPE A DATA BASE NUMBER>
appears, type the number of the database from which you want to report.
INFORM/V responds by displaying the Data Set Menu (Figure 2-10) for that
database.
INFORM/V can display up to 199 data set names per database. If there are
more data sets in the selected database than will fit on the screen,
INFORM/V presents all data set names, one screen full at a time. At the
end of each display, INFORM/V prompts with
TYPE 'RETURN' KEY TO CONTINUE
When you press RETURN, INFORM/V presents the next screen full of data.
After all the data set names have been displayed, INFORM/V prompts with
TYPE A DATA SET NUMBER>
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986 |
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| DATA SET NAMES IN DATA BASE ORDMGT |
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| 1: CUSTOMER 3: PRODUCT 5: INVENTORY|
| 2: DATE-MASTER 4: SALES |
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| TYPE A DATA SET NUMBER> 5 |
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Figure 2-10. The Data Set Menu
Type the number of the data set from which you want to report. INFORM/V
responds by displaying the Data Names Menu, which is shown Figure 2-12.
Option 4: Select a Database. INFORM/V allows you to bypass the Database
Menu and go directly to the Data Set Menu if you know the name of the
database from which you want to report. To do so, type 4 in response to
the prompt
TYPE A NUMBER>
on the Data Organization Menu. As is shown in the example in Figure
2-11, INFORM/V responds with the prompt
TYPE THE DATA BASE NAME>
When prompted, type the name of the database you want to report from.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
| |
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| DATA ORGANIZATION |
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| INFORM/V GROUPS: |
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| 1: DISPLAY GROUP NAMES |
| 2: SELECT A GROUP |
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| DATA BASE ONLY: |
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| 3: DISPLAY DATA BASE NAMES |
| 4: SELECT A DATA BASE |
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| TYPE A NUMBER> 4 |
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| TYPE THE DATA BASE NAME> ORDMGT |
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Figure 2-11. Skipping the Database Menu by Selecting a Database Name
INFORM/V responds by displaying the Data Set Menu for the database.
After you select the data set name, INFORM/V presents the Data Names Menu
(see Figure 2-12) for that data set. You may then define a report.
The Data Names Menu
The Data Names Menu is the one on which you select the data to be
included in the report, as well as specifying other properties of the
report. This menu displays all the names of data items that are
available in the selected data set, Group, or subgroup for reporting.
An example of the Data Names Menu is shown in Figure 2-12. The Data
Names Menu, unlike the menus you have seen so far, includes a series of
prompts. The prompts appear one at a time.
See Appendix C for information about the number of data names that can be
included in a Data Names Menu.
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| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986 |
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| DATA NAMES IN ACCOUNTING INFORMATION |
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| 1: NAME 7: DESCRIPTION 13: PRICE |
| 2: ADDRESS 8: PURCHASE NUMBER 14: TOTAL |
| 3: ACCOUNT 9: PURCHASE DATE 15: SHIPDATE|
| 4: DATE 10: BACKORDERFLG 16: DELVDATE|
| 5: CREDIT 11: QUANTITY |
| 6: PRODUCT NUMBER 12: UNIT COST |
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| TYPE NUMBER(S) FOR DATA NAME(S): |
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| TO INCLUDE IN REPORT> 1,6,11 |
| TO SORT BY> ! |
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| REPORT TITLE> |
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| PREPARING REPORT |
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Figure 2-12. Data Names Menu
Defining the Report
After all data names have been displayed, INFORM/V prompts with
TYPE NUMBER(S) FOR DATA NAME(S):
TO INCLUDE IN REPORT>
You respond to the prompt by typing the numbers corresponding to the data
names you want to include in your report. Type the numbers in the order
in which you want data items shown, from left to right, in the report.
In the example shown in Figure 2-12, the user asks for NAME, PRODUCT
NUMBER, and QUANTITY (data names 1, 6, and 11, respectively).
There are several different ways that you can enter the numbers. One way
is as follows:
number[,number,...]
This form means that you can enter data name numbers, separated by
commas. For example, 2,11,3 would present data names represented by 2,
11, and 3 in order from left to right on the report.
The second possible form is
n/m
where n and m stand for the beginning and ending numbers in a range. All
data names beginning with the first number and ending with the last
number will be included in the report. For example, if you specify 5/9,
data names 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 will be included in the report.
You can mix these two forms: for example,
TO INCLUDE IN REPORT>1,3/5,10,15
The third way to enter numbers is to say
ALL
If you enter the word ALL, INFORM/V will include in the report all the
data names that are shown on the menu. A maximum of 128 data names can
be included in a report.
The next prompt is TO SORT BY>. In Figure 2-12, the user responds by
entering an exclamation point (!). This symbol tells INFORM/V to skip
the next few prompts and to go directly to the prompt for the report
title.
You can also skip through the prompts on this menu (except the first) by
entering RETURN. On this menu, INFORM/V does not go back to the preceding
prompt. Instead, it assumes that you do not want to enter any values for
the prompt, and moves to the next one.
The prompts that are being skipped in this example provide several
powerful reporting capabilities, including
* Sorting, subdividing, and summarizing
* Limiting the report to selected data (using selection criteria)
* Defining new data names for use in reports
Each of these options is so important that it is discussed in a separate
section (see Section 5, 6, and 7).
Specifying the Report Title. After you define the report you want,
INFORM/V asks you to provide a title for the report with the prompt
REPORT TITLE>
You can enter a title of up to 79 characters, or, if you do not want to
supply a title, just type a RETURN. (Section 9 describes several optional
features that can be used in report titles.)
If you Want to Produce the Report. After you have responded to the
prompt for a report title, INFORM/V tells you the report is being
prepared, and begins to prompt for the information that it needs to
produce the report:
PREPARING REPORT
PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?>
The prompts and responses used to produce the report are shown in the
next section (Section 3).
If You Do Not Want To Produce the Report. If you choose not to produce
the report, answer N to the prompt
PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?>
INFORM/V then asks
RETURN TO CURRENT DATA NAMES MENU(Y/N)?>
The reason for this prompt is to allow you to change the report that you
have just defined. If you answer Y, INFORM/V goes back to the first
prompt on the Data Names Menu and waits for you to enter new information.
Section 10 describes how to modify a report.
If you do not want to change the report, answer N, and INFORM/V will
redisplay the Main Menu. You can then choose any of the ten options
there. The report that you have just defined is still available, and you
could still produce it by choosing option 5 (PRODUCE THE REPORT) on the
Main Menu.