4.15.13 Report Design Facility

Once the function checker has been run and no fatal errors were found in the RDML program it is possible to use the report design facility. The function checker is described in detail in preceding sections of this chapter.

It is easy to tell when the report design facility can be used because a message like this will appear at the top of the screen:

 

Invoke the design facility for ______  (SCREEN, REPORT)

If this message does not appear at the top of the screen it will be for one of the following reasons:

• You are currently inputting or changing the RDML program. In this case complete the required input, run the function checker and the message should appear.

• The function checker has just been run but has found fatal errors in the RDML program. In such cases correct the errors, run the function checker again and the message should appear.

To invoke the report design facility enter REPORT in response to the message previously described and press enter.

The resulting display will look something like this:

 

  Opt_Rpt_Seq_Command___Parameter(s)_______________________Cycles: 1

   1       1  DEF_HEAD  NAME(#HEADING) FIELDS((#ORDNUM) (#DIVNUM)  

                        (#CUSNUM) (#CUSNAM))

   X   1   2  DEF_LINE  NAME(#DETAIL) FIELDS((#PRODNO)(#PRODES) 

                        (#QANTY) (#VALUE))                            

 

This screen displays all the DEF_HEAD, DEF_FOOT, DEF_LINE and DEF_BREAK commands that were found in the RDML program. In following sections these commands are referred to as the DEF_XXXXX report commands.

In this example you can see:

• RDML program statement number 1 is a DEF_HEAD (define report heading) command and thus is eligible for "painting" via the report design facility.

• RDML program statement number 2 is a DEF_LINE (define report line) command and thus is eligible for "painting" by the report design facility.

After considering the information on the display you can do one of two things:

• Press the enter key without selecting any of the DEF_XXXXX report commands. In this case the RDML program will be re-displayed for amendment.

• Select one of the DEF_XXXXXX commands as the command to be "edited" or "painted" by entering a "1" beside it in the column headed "Opt". Optionally, additional DEF_XXXXXX commands can be chosen for display by entering an "X" beside them. Additional commands chosen in this way cannot be edited by the report design facility (only one DEF_XXXXX command can be edited at a time), but they will be displayed. This is useful when checking and comparing the layouts of different components of the report (i.e. heading section, details section, etc).

In addition, a "Cycle" (report cycles to be emulated) value may be specified at the top of the screen and a "Repeat" (number of times to repeat the image) value may be specified for each individual DEF_LINE command beside the command in the column headed "Rpt". These values are used to enhance the "image" of the report and are described in more detail in 4.15.15 Use Cycle and Repeat Values to Enhance Report Image.