How to: |
To facilitate the creation and scheduling of Alerts, the Alert Wizard guides you through a series of windows that complete the following tasks:
If you are logged on to Managed Reporting as a Managed Reporting developer, you can access Alert Wizard through a Published Content or Private Content folder or subfolder within the tree.
When you use the reporting tool through Developer Studio to create an Alert test, a subset of the tabs and options is available, because the Alert test is used only to state the conditions or rules, of the test. Users do not see this report. This should be a simple report that states the selection criteria and an ON TABLE HOLD command. For sample code examples, see Alert Test Sample Code Created in Developer Studio With the Editor.
When an Alert test is evaluated and the result is true, a report (the Alert result, which is the second report you create) is executed. This is the report users see. Therefore, you can add styling to this report. More options are available in Report Painter when you are creating an Alert result.
When you create an Alert result report, it is not shown to the Managed Reporting end user by default since all content is Private by default.
As you use the Alert Wizard to create reports, you may see messages that state Report Saved. Your changes for the report have been saved but not written to the tree until the Alert is saved. To save the Alert, click Finish in the Alert Wizard. If you exit the Alert Wizard before you click Finish, the Alert is not saved.
The following steps provide options for creating an Alert in Developer Studio.
The New Alert Wizard Procedure window opens, as shown in the following image.
The Alert Wizard Welcome window opens.
The Alert Wizard, Alert Test window opens, as shown in the following image.
Type the full path to the file on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server that you want to check. Do not use a file name or a file path that includes spaces.
Click Next.
If the file is located, the Alert report is sent. Proceed to step 14 to create the Alert report (event procedure).
Note: Testing a folder for existence is also valid. You can test a folder for existence if it is available on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.
Select either the Procedure Viewer or Editor to create an Alert test.
The Procedure Viewer opens, where you can create selection criteria for your Alert test. If you do not see the reporting tool, double-click the Report icon in the Procedure Viewer.
Note: When creating an Alert test, amper variables in a WHERE condition must have a value specified in the schedule. This is because Alerts run unattended and are not able to collect a value from a user. For more information, see the ReportCaster manual.
You return to the Alert Wizard, New or Existing Test window.
Note:
The Alert Wizard, Alert Event window opens, as shown in the following image. You can indicate which report to distribute when the Alert test is true. It can be a report you create or one that already exists.
For information on which option to select, see the Considerations note in Components of an Alert.
Note: From the Procedure Viewer Alert Event window, you can select a Report or a Graph.
The Alert Wizard, Finish window opens.
Note: The new Alert can be found under the folder, or subfolder, in the tree, identified by the Alert icon . Your Alert will automatically be executed if the test report is true. It is not necessary to schedule the Alert.
ReportCaster opens in a new browser window, as shown in the following image.
The Alert Options dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.
As you complete the creation of the schedule, remember to consider the burst option to distribute specific report values, instead of the entire report. When a report is burst, the distribution information must be provided in a distribution list, distribution file, or dynamic list for email distribution and an access list for library distribution. The email and library distribution options are the most effective for Alert reports because of the push versus pull notification through email. For more information on using the burst option in ReportCaster, see the ReportCaster manual.
The scheduled report now appears in the tree, as shown in the following image.
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