Reports are composed of two basic elements, a set of query filters, and a definition of the data to be output. There is a wide range of report types, as explained in the End User Guide. The results may be output to the user’s browser, to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe PDF or to text.
Each report has filters, which are composed using either standard or advanced filters. The standard filters require the composition of a layout of the type SEARCH_QUICK. This should contain the most frequently used fields for queries. Users can select any number of filters on this layout to compose a query. When multiple filters are selected, the query engine places an “AND” conjunction between the filters. The user can select expanded query filters, in which case, multiple values can be selected within each field. This is an “OR” operation with the values of the filter field.
Advanced filters require the selection of the filters to be used in the query, one-by-one. However, the user can select from the entire range of fields to which they have read permission. The user may also set a conjunction between each filter, using “AND”, “OR”, “UNION”, “INTERSECT” or “MINUS”. Advanced filters take more time to set up, but offer significantly more capability. This includes the introduction of parentheses into compound queries.
For most report types there is the capability to define hierarchies for the filters, allowing the selection of parent and child records for output to the report.
Within the administration section of ExtraView the most important aspect that affects querying is to correctly set the following Data Dictionary fields, as explained in the Data Dictionary section of this guide:
- Allow selection on reports
- Total field on reports
- Filter criteria
- Is sortable
If you are using relationships within your installation, reporting hierarchies may be created, allowing parent / child / grandchild type reporting.