HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Chapter 3 PRODUCING OR PREVIEWING THE REPORT
It is possible to produce a report from many points in INFORM/V. As a
general rule, if there is a report currently available, either newly
defined or called up from the catalog (the report catalog is described in
Section 4), the assumption is that you want to produce the report.
The first subsection below describes how to produce a report from the
Data Names Menu right after the report has been defined or modified. A
later discussion in this section described the steps used to produce a
report from the Main Menu.
A feature that is closely related to producing the report is previewing
the report. This feature, option 4 on the Main Menu, allows you to see a
"dummy" of the first few lines, so that you can be sure the report is in
the format you want. The steps required to preview a report are
described at the end of this section.
Producing a Report from the Data Names Menu
Section 2 described the steps used to define a simple report. When you
have finished defining the report, INFORM/V prints the message
PREPARING REPORT
The next prompt on the Data Names Menu will ask if you want to produce
the report.
You have the choice of producing the report interactively or in batch
mode. The complete set of prompts and responses are described below,
first, for interactive processing and, second, for batch processing.
Producing the Report Interactively. When INFORM/V prompts with
PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?>
answer Y no matter how you want to produce it. The next prompt will then
be
PRODUCE REPORT IN BATCH MODE?(N/Y)>
At this point, answer N if you want to produce the report interactively.
The interaction is shown in Figure 3-1.
______________________________________________________________________________
| |
| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986 |
| |
| DATA NAMES IN ACCOUNTING INFORMATION |
| |
| 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 |
| |
| TYPE NUMBER(S) FOR DATA NAME(S): |
| |
| TO INCLUDE IN REPORT> 1,6,11 |
| TO SORT BY> ! |
| |
| REPORT TITLE> |
| |
| PREPARING REPORT |
| |
| PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?>Y |
| |
| PRODUCE REPORT IN BATCH MODE?(N/Y)>N |
______________________________________________________________________________
Figure 3-1. The Data Names Menu - Preparing a Report
INFORM/V presents the Report Process Menu and prints the message
REPORT PROCESS STARTED
If the data you are accessing comes from a database, the next prompt may
be:
PASSWORD FOR database>
This prompt may appear even if you are reporting from an INFORM/V Group,
depending on how security is structured for your data. Because the
information you want may be located in more than one database, INFORM/V
may prompt for a password more than once.
The password does not appear on the screen when you type it, so that
security will be maintained. The password that you enter must be
identical to the password as it was assigned to you--upper and lower case
characters must match exactly. If you make a mistake, INFORM/V reprompts
for the password.
MPE/V and KSAM files are often secured with lockwords. Like passwords,
lockwords protect files that contain sensitive or privileged information.
If a lockword exists for a file, you may be prompted for it.
Finally, the following prompt appears:
DISPLAY OR PRINT(D/P)?>
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
| |
| REPORT PROCESS STARTED |
| |
| PASSWORD FOR PURCHA> |
| |
| DISPLAY OR PRINT(D/P)?> D |
_______________________________________________________________
Figure 3-2. Producing a Report Interactively
Type D or RETURN to display the report on your terminal. Type P to have
the report printed. Printing a report interactively ties up your
terminal until the report is finished, so you cannot do any other work.
If the report that you are going to print is long, it is therefore better
to use the batch option. You can change the destination of a printed
file by issuing an MPE/V file equation before you enter INFORM/V. See
Appendix B for the default output file name.
If you choose to display the report on your terminal, INFORM/V clears the
screen and displays the first page of the report. The Report Process
Menu in Figure 3-2 shows an example of the interaction to display a
report at the terminal. The report produced is shown in Figure 3-3.
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| NAME PRODUCT NUMBER QUANTITY |
| --------------------------------------------------------|
| Lewis Charles 55C 20 |
| Peterson Paul P 70A 20 |
| Albertson John B 90C 100 |
| Lewis Charles 90C 700 |
| Limburger Frank 60D 15 |
| Albertson John B 60D 130 |
| Baker Bill B 80B 55 |
| Albertson John B 50B 30 |
| Albertson John B 50B 5 |
| Smith John Q 11A 40 |
| Smith John Q 11B 400 |
| Smith John Q 11C 400 |
| |
| *****END OF REPORT***** |
| |
| |
| RETURN TO DATA NAMES MENU(Y/N)?> |
| |
| |
_______________________________________________________________
Figure 3-3. Simple Report Produced by INFORM/V
If the report is longer than one screen, INFORM/V fills the screen, then
prints the prompt
CONTINUE(Y/N)>
If you answer Y, INFORM/V will display the next screen full of data, then
prompt again.
If you answer N, INFORM/V displays
***** END OF REPORT *****
After the report is displayed, you have the option of changing the report
and looking at it again or returning to the Main Menu. The prompt is
RETURN TO CURRENT DATA NAMES MENU(Y/N)?>
To return to the Main Menu, enter N. Once you return to the Main Menu,
you can use any option displayed there.
CAUTION If you want to save the report that you have just defined, that
should be your next move. Invoking other options might destroy
your report before you have a chance to save it. See Section 4
for a description of how to save the report by adding it to the
catalog.
If you want to modify the report just defined, answer Y or RETURN. The
Data Names Menu you used to select data names is redisplayed so that you
can change the report if you want to. The process of modifying a report
is described in Section 10.
Batch Mode. The batch mode option is a very easy way to have your report
printed without tying up your terminal during the process. If you choose
batch mode, INFORM/V prompts for all the information needed, creates the
batch job, and streams it. Once the job is streamed, you can then use
your terminal for other tasks.
The process of producing the report by batch begins just like the process
for producing a report interactively. On the Data Names Menu, after you
respond to the prompt for a report title, INFORM/V prompts with
PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?>
If you respond with Y, the next prompt is
PRODUCE REPORT IN BATCH MODE?(N/Y)>
If you also answer Y to this prompt, the Report Process Menu then
appears, and you are prompted for user, group, and account passwords.
INFORM/V then builds a jobfile called INFJOBnn, where nn can be any
number between zero and 99. The number is assigned randomly, just to
assure that the job file name is unique.
INFORM/V allows you to control many of the parameters that apply to the
batch job, such as its priority and the naming or disposition of files
created by the job. If you want to see what these parameters are, and
the default values, refer to the discussion of format options in Section
8.
An example of the procedure for creating a batch job is shown in Figure
3-4. For this example, default values are used for all the batch
parameters.
The prompt
PASSWORD FOR database>
will appear if the database administrator has not programmed a link
between database security and INFORM/V security (details of setting up
security are described in Section 11).
The next prompts are for logon passwords:
ENTER USER PASSWORD>
ENTER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
ENTER GROUP PASSWORD>
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
| |
| REPORT PROCESS STARTED |
| |
| PASSWORD FOR PURCHA> |
| |
| |
| PREPARE TO STREAM BATCH JOB |
| |
| ENTER USER PASSWORD> |
| |
| ENTER ACCOUNT PASSWORD> |
| |
| ENTER GROUP PASSWORD> |
| |
| #J93 |
| BATCH JOB SUCCESSFULLY STREAMED |
| |
| RETURN TO CURRENT DATA NAMES MENU(Y/N)?> |
| |
| |
_______________________________________________________________
Figure 3-4. Creating a Report in Batch Mode
When the system sets up a batch job, that job in many respects looks like
you are logged onto the system a second time. The system must have your
logon passwords, just as you enter them when you log on, in order to set
up that job. The passwords will not show when you enter them, so as to
maintain security.
INFORM/V next tells you the job number and says that it has been
successful in establishing the batch job. The messages are
#Jnn
BATCH JOB SUCCESSFULLY STREAMED
It pays to make a note of the job number (#Jnn). If you need to query
the system about the job, or if you ask your database administrator about
the job, the job number is the quickest and most direct identifier of the
job once it has been streamed.
After you have completed the batch job, INFORM/V asks whether you want to
see the Data Names Menu again, so that you can change the report. The
prompt is
RETURN TO CURRENT DATA NAMES MENU(Y/N)?
Interaction from this point is identical to that just described for
interactive processing.
Producing a Report from the Main Menu
If you are at the Main Menu and want to produce the current report,
choose option 5 (an example is shown in Figure 3-5). You will
immediately be prompted with the question
PRODUCE REPORT IN BATCH MODE(N/Y)?>
If you respond N, INFORM/V assumes that you want to produce the report
interactively. The interaction would then be as described earlier in
this section for interactive reporting.
If you respond Y, INFORM/V will then begin prompting for the responses
for batch production. The interaction would be as described earlier in
this section for batch mode.
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
| |
| INFORM OPTIONS: |
| |
| 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> 5 |
| |
| PRODUCE REPORT IN BATCH MODE?(N/Y)> |
_______________________________________________________________
Figure 3-5. Choosing to Produce a Report on the Main Menu
Previewing the Report Layout
INFORM/V allows you to check the appearance of a report before you
produce it. It displays the headings and a few simulated rows of data,
and then allows you to change the report definition or to produce the
report.
To preview the current report layout, type 4 in response to the following
Main Menu prompt:
TYPE AN OPTION NUMBER> 4
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| INFORM/V HP32246v.uu.ff - (C) Hewlett-Packard Co. 1986|
| |
| INFORM OPTIONS: |
| |
| 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> 4 |
| |
| DISPLAY OR PRINT(D/P)?> |
| |
| NUMBER OF LINES TO PREVIEW> |
_______________________________________________________________
Figure 3-6. Choosing to Preview a Report Layout
If there is no current report, INFORM/V displays the following message:
CURRENT REPORT HAS NOT BEEN SPECIFIED
TYPE A REPORT NAME(6)>
If a current report is present, the following prompt appears:
DISPLAY OR PRINT(D/P)?>
Press RETURN or D to preview the report layout on the terminal. Type a P
to have the preview listed on the line printer. When the report layout
is displayed, 9's are substituted in numeric fields, and X's are
substituted in character fields. The plus (+) preceding the 9's in a
numeric field is called a sign field. If the actual data contains a
negative number, for example, the sign field will contain a minus sign
(-).
The next prompt to appear is:
NUMBER OF LINES TO PREVIEW>
You may not want to preview the entire report. You may simply want to
look at a few lines. This prompt gives you that chance. Press RETURN to
have five lines of the report displayed. Five lines is usually enough
for you to get a good idea of the report's layout. Enter another number
to have more or fewer lines printed.
A report preview is shown in Figure 3-7.
_____________________________________________________________________
| |
| SALES |
| |
| NAME PRODUCT NUMBER QUANTITY |
| --------------------------------------------------------------|
| XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX +9999999 |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX +9999999 |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX +9999999 |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX +9999999 |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX +9999999 |
| |
| *****END OF PREVIEW***** |
| |
| PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?> |
_____________________________________________________________________
Figure 3-7. Preview of a Report
After the preview, INFORM/V asks you if you want to produce the report:
PRODUCE THE REPORT(Y/N)?>
Type Y or press RETURN if you want to produce the report, then follow the
steps described earlier in this section.
If you type N, INFORM/V displays the following prompt:
TYPE 'RETURN' KEY TO CONTINUE
When you press RETURN, the Main Menu is displayed.