Creating Structured Ad Hoc Forms

How to:

A structured ad hoc form (SAF) is a parameterized report that allows you to select fields and options that participate in a report at run time. Fields and options that have been added to the SAF are displayed in controls and are available for selection. Selecting fields from controls and running the report will display the data that correlates to the field values. You must add a parameter to a report to make it a valid SAF.

These procedures assume that you know how to create a parameterized report using HTML Canvas or HTML Composer. For more information on how to create a parameterized report refer to the App Studio Help or Developer Studio documentation.


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Procedure: How to Create a Structured Ad Hoc Form Using App Studio

WebFOCUS App Studio enables you to create structured ad hoc forms using the HTML canvas.

  1. Launch WebFOCUS App Studio.
  2. In the Environments Tree panel, expand the environment that you are working with. In this example, we use localhost.

    If this is a new work session or if you are required to sign in on every attempt to access the server, the local host sign in dialog box opens. Enter the User ID and Password for the WebFOCUS server.

  3. Expand content.

    If this is a new work session or if you are required to sign in on every attempt to access the Reporting Server, the Reporting Server sign in dialog box opens. Enter the required User ID and Password.

    The Environments Tree pane resembles the following image.

    App Studio Environments Tree Pane with Content Branch expanded

  4. Right-click the Public folder, or any other folder you want to use, point to New, and then click HTML/Document, as shown in the following image.

    Public Folder shortcut menus, New and HTML/Document selected

  5. When the first page of the HTML/Document Wizard opens, click Next to accept the default location for the HTML page, as shown in the following image.

    HTML/Document Wizard First Screen, defines the location for a new document

  6. When the second page of the HTML/Document Wizard opens, keep the default background theme for the HTML/Document, or select an alternative from the Themes list, and then click Finish, as shown in the following image.

    HTML/Document Wizard Second Screen, defines the default background theme for a document

    The wizard closes, and HTML canvas opens, as shown in the following image.

    HTML/Document tab displaying the HTML Canvas

  7. Right-click the HTML canvas and click New Report, as shown in the following image.

    HTML Canvas shortcut menu, New Report selected

  8. Draw a rectangle with the crosshair, right-click the report container, and then click Import Existing Report, as shown in the following image.

    HTML Canvas with Report Frame and shortcut menu, Import Existing Report command selected

  9. Select the name of the report to insert in the container, and then click OK, as shown in the following image.

    Open File dialog box with the name of the report to inseirt into the Report Frame selected

    Your report appears in the container on the HTML canvas, as shown in the following image.

    HTML canvas with the newly-inserted report on display

    For more information on how to create reports, see Creating Report Queries With InfoAssist.

  10. Right-click the report, and then click Add a filter to create a parameter, as shown in the following image.

    HTML/Document tab with the name of the newly selected report appearing on the tab.

    The Filter Options dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Filter Options dialog box

  11. Select the value for the parameter and click OK, as shown in the following image.

    Filter Options dialog box with a value selected

    The New Parameters dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    New Parameters dialog box before parameter selection

  12. In the Control Type column, click Drop down list.
  13. Ensure that the Create controls for all Parameters check box is selected.
  14. Click OK.

    A dialog box for the new parameter appears above the report on the HTML canvas, as shown in the following image.

    HTML/Document tab with the Report and the new Parameter Selection dialog box on display

  15. Save the updated HTML page by clicking the Application Menu button, and then clicking Save, or by clicking the Save icon on the Quick Access toolbar.

    The Save As dialog box opens.

  16. In the Save As dialog box, enter the name of the new report, now a structured ad hoc form, and click OK, as shown in the following image.

    Save As dialog box with new parameterized report selected

    The name of the new report appears on the HTML canvas.

  17. Right-click a report container on the HTML canvas and click Style.

    The Style Composer dialog box opens.

  18. In the left pane, click Layout.
  19. In the Flow control section, under the Visibility drop-down list, click Hidden.

    When your selections are complete, the Style Composer dialog box will resemble the following image.

  20. Click OK.

    The frame is now hidden. You can make it visible by using the Visibility command, on the Utilities tab, in the Miscellaneous group, as shown in the following image.

    App Studio Menu Bar  Miscellaneous Group, Visibility icon selected.

    Note: It is recommended to keep the frame hidden when running an HTML form in Excel through the Quick Data add-in, to avoid displaying a prompt with an empty frame alongside an active Excel workbook.

  21. Save, and close the HTML page.

    Note: If you want to use an existing procedure with the Quick Data add-in, you must set the format in the procedure to Excel.


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Procedure: How to Create a Structured Ad Hoc Form Using Developer Studio

WebFOCUS Developer Studio enables you to create structured ad hoc forms using its HTML Composer pane.

  1. Launch WebFOCUS Developer Studio.
  2. From Developer Studio Explorer, expand the WebFOCUS Environments node, and expand the Content node.
  3. Right-click the Public folder or any other folder you want to use, point to New, and then click HTML File.
  4. When the Template Selector opens, keep the default background theme for the HTML/Document, or select an alternative from the Themes list, and then click Use Template, as shown in the following image.

    Template Selector window with the Use Template button.

    The Select Template window closes, and the HTML Composer opens, as shown in the following image.

    The HTML Composer tab with a blank report container.

  5. Right-click the report container, and then click Import Existing Report.

    The Get Source file dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Get Source file dialog box with list oif report files.

  6. Select the name of the report source file to insert in the container, and then click Open.

    Your report appears in the container on the HTML Composer, as shown in the following image.

    The HTML Composer tab with a new report in the report container.

  7. Right-click the report, and then click Add a filter to create a parameter.

    The Filter Options dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    The Filter Options dialog box

  8. Select the value for the parameter and click OK, as shown in the following image.

    The New Parameters dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    The New Parameters dialog box.

  9. In the Control Type column, ensure that Drop down list is displayed.
  10. Ensure that the Create controls for all Parameters check box is selected.
  11. Click OK.

    A dialog box for the new parameter appears above the report on the HTML Composer, as shown in the following image.

    The HTML Composer with a parameter dialog box displayed above the report container.

  12. Save the updated HTML document by clicking the Save icon on the Quick Access toolbar.
  13. Click the report frame in HTML Composer.
  14. In Properties sheet, click the Display drop--down list button, and then click the Do Not Display entry, as shown in the following image.

    Properties List with Do Not Display selected from the Fram Border entry.

    The Report Frame disappears, as shown in the following image.

  15. Click Save.

    Once you hide a frame, you can make it visible on the HTML Composer toolbar by clicking the Visibility toggle button, as shown in the following image.

    Developer Studio HTML Composer toolbar, Visibility toggle button


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