Creating an Active Technologies Report

How to:

Reference:

An active report is a report that is designed for offline analysis. When using an active report, a user can:

The following image shows a simple HTML active report. The record status and page navigation bar appears at the top of the report.

You can save existing reports as active reports. If you do this, be sure to modify any unsupported features as necessary.

For more information about using active reports, see the Active Technologies User's Guide.


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Procedure: How to Create an Active Technologies Report Using Report Painter
  1. Create a report in Report Painter.
  2. From the Report menu, select Output.

    The Report Options dialog box opens.

  3. From the Select Format drop-down list, select HTML active report (AHTML).

    Tip: You can also select active report for Adobe Flash Player (FLEX) or active report for PDF (APDF).

  4. Click OK.

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Reference: Report Options Features Tab for Active Technologies Reports

The following image shows the Features tab of the Report Options dialog box for the active report formats.

active cache

Because all post-retrieval processing is performed in the memory of the web browser, an active report has a processing limit of approximately 5,000 records or 100 pages of output. The active cache option enables you to send only the first page of active report output to the browser and retrieve subsequent pages from a temporary cache on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. The server also becomes the resource for performing all calculations, sorting, and filtering when active cache is enabled. Since active cache uses on-demand paging functionality, WebFOCUS Viewer is not supported.

active cache

Enables reports to cache the data in a binary file and return the data to the output window in pre-set increments.

In Report Painter, the active cache option is not applicable to active reports for Adobe Flash Player.

Number of rows retrieved

The number of rows retrieved in the output. The default number of rows retrieved is 100.

Tip: It is recommended that you set the number of rows retrieved five times greater than the number of lines retrieved per page (as indicated in SET LINES). The minimum number of rows retrieved is 100.

Calculations

Enables you to turn on calculations for fields in the report. All visible fields in the report appear in the Column list in the order they appear in the report. Hidden fields do not appear in the Column list.

You can select a calculation for each field in the Column list from the Calculation drop-down list. Calculation options are determined by the field type. If the field is an alphanumeric format, the drop-down list contains: Count and Count Distinct. If the field is a numeric format, the drop-down list contains: Sum, Average, Count, Count Distinct, Minimum, and Maximum.

Viewing restrictions

Specifies that a password is required to view the active report output. Prior to opening the report output, you are prompted to enter a password to unlock the report.

Password

A character string up to 32 characters in length.

Only standard alphanumeric English characters are allowed in the password for an active report in AHTML format. National Language Support (NLS) characters are not allowed in the password. Any NLS character in the password for an AHTML report makes the password invalid.

Expire

The date when an active report expires and the report output can no longer be opened (displayed).

Enter the expiration date in year, month, day (yymmdd) format or in day format (1-999 DAYS) where the value indicates the number of days from the current date that the report expires. Valid values are 1 to 999 days. Note that you must enter the number and the word DAYS as part of the value.

In Report Painter, the Viewing restrictions option is not applicable to active reports for Adobe Flash Player.

Default Chart Engine

<Not Set>. No selection has been made.

Legacy. The default JavaScript charts will be used.

Dynamic. This option will change the engine to use Fusion charts.

HTML5. This option will change the engine to use High charts. This is the default chart engine for AHTML and FLEX formatted reports.

Flash. This option will change the engine to use Flex charts, if available.


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Reference: Report Options Format Tab for Active Technologies Reports

The following image shows the Format tab of the Report Options dialog box for the active report formats. This tab provides options for formatting an active report.

Note: The colors shown on the Format tab are different depending on what style sheet you have selected. The Information Builders style sheet is selected by default.

Report Options Format Tab

Initial Presentation

Sets the active report output to appear as a default active report, Grid, Pivot, or chart. This is especially useful when creating compound reports from other Developer Studio tools. The active report for Adobe Flash Player (FLEX) output format has an additional Other Chart option. The Other Chart option provides the following chart types, which are available by clicking the ellipsis (...) button to the right of the drop-down menu.

 

 

Bar

Bar charts plot numerical data by displaying rectangular blocks against a scale (numbers or variable measures that appear along the axis). The length of a bar corresponds to a value or amount. You can clearly compare data series (fields) by the relative heights of the bars. Use a bar chart to display the distribution of numerical data. You can create horizontal, as well as vertical bar charts. The following bar chart types are available.

  • Column 2D
  • Column 3D
  • Multi-Series Column 2D
  • Multi-Series Column 3D
  • Stacked Column 2D
  • Stacked Column 3D
  • Scroll Multi-Series Column 2D
  • Scroll Stacked Column 2D
  • Logarithmic Multi-Series Column 2D
  • Inverse Y-Axis Multi-Series Column 2D
  • Bar 2D
  • Multi-Series Bar 2D
  • Multi-Series Bar 3D
  • Stacked Bar 2D
  • Stacked Bar 3D
Pie

Pie charts emphasize where your data fits, in relation to a larger whole. Pie charts work best when the data consists of several large segments. Too many variables divide the pie into small segments that are difficult to see. Use the different dimensions available to create visual contrast. The following pie chart types are available.

  • Pie 2D
  • Pie 3D
  • Doughnut 2D
  • Doughnut 3D

You may receive a JavaScript error message when executing a large chart request, especially a pie chart request.

This happens because HTML active reports run scripts that can time out before they complete. Internet Explorer tracks the script execution count associated with these AJAX controls and by default displays a message when the count exceeds a certain number. To avoid this, you can place an entry in the registry for these scripts and set the value to a high number, such as 5,000,000.

Line

Line charts are useful for emphasizing the movement or trend of numerical data over time. They allow you to trace the evolution of a data point by working backward or interpolating. Highs and lows, rapid or slow movement, or a tendency towards stability are all types of trends well suited to a line chart. The following line chart types are available.

  • Line 2D
  • Multi-Series Line 2D
  • Scroll Multi-Series Column 2D
  • Logarithmic Multi-Series Line
  • Inverse Y-Axis Multi-Series Line 2D
  • Spline
  • Multi-Series Spline
  • Area 2D
  • Multi-Series Area 2D
  • Stacked Area 2D
  • Scroll Multi-Series Area 2D
  • Inverse Y-Axis Multi-Series Area 2D
  • Spline Area
  • Multi-Series Spline Area
Scatter

Scatter charts share many of the characteristics of basic line charts. You can plot data using variable scales on both axes. When you use a scatter chart, the data is plotted with a basic line pattern so that you can visualize the density of individual data values around particular points, or discern patterns in the data. The following scatter chart types are available.

  • Scatter (XY Plot)
  • Bubble
Other

Includes a variety of additional charts.

  • Funnel
  • Pyramid
  • Radar
Legend Options

Legend options are applicable when using active report for Adobe Flash Player (FLEX) and active report for PDF (APDF) output formats, where you can click the Legend button to show or hide the chart legend. Legend options are only available when the initial presentation format is set to Bar, Line, Pie, or Scatter chart.

Report view

You can set the report view as a standard table (Tabular) or as an expandable report (Accordion). An expandable report is a collapsed report that can be fully expanded for sorting and other purposes.

If you are working with an Accordion active report, the Freeze columns option and Pagination options are not available.

Accordion Reports are not supported when creating HTML active reports using active cache and active reports for Adobe Flash Player.

Accordion Reports do not work when using By Hierarchy data.

Window display

Sets the window display option in the report output when multiple windows are open in the active report web browser. Select from Default, Cascade, or Tabs.

The window display option can also be changed directly from the active report web browser.

Freeze columns

You can freeze the report at a particular point so that columns to the left of the freeze point remain in view while the user scrolls through the other report columns. Options include:

  • None, which turns off the freeze option. This is the default value.
  • The fields in the request. If the report can be fully viewed in the browser window, freeze is not applied.

The Freeze columns option is not available for expandable report (Accordion) views.

Pagination options

You can set the justification for the information that appears in the record status and page navigation bar. You can also set the number of records that appear per page.

The following are the pagination options for active reports.

Justification

Controls the location of the record status and page navigation bar, and justifies the text that appears in the bar. Options are Top Left, Top Center, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Center, and Bottom Right. Top Center is the default value.

Lines per page

Sets the number of records that appear per page. Options are Default, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and Show All. The default is 57 lines per page.

Text

Sets the color for the text in the record status and page navigation bar. Black is the default color.

Background

Sets the background color for the record status and page navigation bar. Silver is the default color.

Pagination Check Box

Turns the pagination bar off when selected. With the Pagination check box selected, Justification, Text, and Background will be unavailable. By default, this check box is not selected.

Pagination options are not available for expandable report (Accordion) views.

Visualization colors

Users can apply data visualization to numeric fields in an active report. You can designate the colors of the bars and set different colors for positive and negative values. The default color for positive and negative values is black.

Row selection colors

An active report offers visual assistance for viewing data in the report. For example, when a user hovers over a row of data the row is highlighted with a background color, and when the user clicks a row of data it is also highlighted with a background color. You can set the colors for these options, Hover and Selected. The default color for Hover is RGB(255 252 204), which is pale yellow, and the default color for Selected is RGB(51 255 204), which is blue-green.

Calculations
Colors

Specifies the colors for the values in a calculation.

  • Values sets the font color of the calculation results. The default color is black.
  • Background sets the background color of the calculation results. The default color is white.
Location

Sets the location of the calculations. Options are Top row or Bottom row. Top row is the default value.

Menu options

Set options for the menu.

User type

Select a user type to determine the level of functionality and interactivity available to the user in the report output. The user types are logical groupings of functionality enabling a quick selection of options, and have no dependency on Managed Reporting user types, security, and so on. Each user type can be customized. The user types are:

  • Default user. This is the default user type. All functionality is available for this user except the advanced tools and grid tools.
  • Power user. All functionality is available for this user.
  • Analytical user. All functionality is available for this user type except visualization and charting.
  • Business user. All functionality is available for this user type except visualization, charting, filtering, and exporting.
Customize User Interactivity

Click the ellipsis (...) button, located next to the User type drop-down list in the Menu options section, to open the Customize User Interactivity dialog box. The Customize User Interactivity dialog box enables you to customize the options for each user type. For a Power user, all options are selected by default. Uncheck any option that you want to hide in the active report.

If you select a combination of options that does not match one of the existing user types (Power user, Analytical user, or Business user), the User level name that appears in the Customize User Interactivity dialog box is Custom user. This is not a default user type or a selectable user type. It is used to show that options for this user do not match any of the existing user types.

Font color

Enables you to set the colors for the menu text:

  • Text sets the color of the text. The default color is black.
  • Hover sets the color of the text when the mouse hovers over it. The default color is black (text hover does not show).
Menu color

Sets the colors for the menu:

  • Background sets the background color of the menu. The default color is silver.
  • Hover sets the background hover color of an individual item on the menu. For example, if the background color of the menu is black, the hover color can be set to white to show which option on the menu the mouse is currently hovering over. The default color is white.
  • Border sets the color of the menu border. The default color is white.
Dimension
Sets the width and height for an active report for Adobe Flash Player (FLEX) or active report for PDF (APDF) report container on the page. The measurement unit is specified in the Measurement Units drop-down box under the Output tab of the Report Options dialog box.

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