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Report Designer

I have had many requests to add very specific reports.  Some of these reports would be useful to most of the users of The Pastor's Study but others may not be.  To get around the problem of designing and coding so many different reports I have added a Report Designer.  Using this tool there are very few, if any, reports that can not be designed based on your own needs.  To add to this the query engine has been added to make sure you get the output you need for every report.

The first window to display when the Report Designer is opened lists all the current reports.  On the left is the user defined report name.  In the middle the buttons allow tremendous flexibility.  You can start a new report. Copy an existing report to another name.  Now modify the new report with different fields, by either adding or deleting field name.

On the right the contents of the report are displayed as well as the sort order.



When a new report is started the first step is to give it a name.  Make is as descriptive as you can.

Click the OK button to continue designing your new report.



This window is used to select the fields you want on your report.   First find the field you want to select from the Available Fields list.  Once selected either click the Add button.  You can also use drag and drop to add to the report definition.

Once the fields are adding the order can be changed by using the Up or Down buttons at the bottom of the list box.  To remove a field first select it then click the Remove button.



Here are the fields needed to design a report to list the address and telephone fields of the class members.



Here you define the sort order of the report.  There are some predefined sorts but you can add your own if the report need it.



This window allows you to manipulate what the report will look when complete.  Our advice is the try a setting and review the results.  If you don't like it modify the report to remove or change the setting.



This window allows you to select portrait or landscape, and to use different font style and size.  By default all numbers will have the total option will have a check mark for every numeric field.  Remove the check if it is not appropriate, like phone numbers.



Enter any notes for this report.  This can be useful for the final user to determine if this is the report they really need.



You are now back at the first screen.  You can run the report you just completed, or modify it or close the window.



If the total width of the fields you have selected is greater than the width of the paper you will see the following message.  There is a way to get around this problem.



Click the Advanced button on the Column Layout window.



For example the default length of the Message is 100 characters.  Most of your message titles will be much shorter.  To change the length for this report select Message and click the Modify button.



Change the column width.  Then save by clicking the OK button and run the report again.   If necessary decrease the value until the warning message does not display.

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