> SRS Output Options

SRS Output Options

The Output Options tab on SRS reports enables you to produce professional-looking reports quickly and with minimal effort.

Output Options

Field Description
Report Theme Select a standard or user-define theme you want to apply to the report.

You cannot define a report theme if the Disable theme selection option is enabled (SYSPRO Reporting Services->Setup->Setup Options).
Email report  
Email Options This loads the Send Email program to define the parameters for emailing the report.

The Office Automation and Messaging module is not required for emailing documents from SYSPRO Reporting Services.
Export report This saves the currently displayed report in a specific location. You can also select the Preview report option and export the report from the Report Preview screen.
Export Options This lets you define parameters for exporting/saving the report.

Export formats can be page-based and record-based. Page-based formats typically preserve these properties as closely as possible. Record-based formats prioritize data rather than layout and formatting. Some record-based formats are only data-exchange formats (e.g. Adobe Acrobat PDF).

Depending on the format you select, the layout (e.g. object position, object size and relationships between these attributes and other objects) and formatting (e.g. font style, text color, text alignment, background color, etc) may not be perfectly preserved.

OptionDescription
Crystal Report (RPT)

This exports (saves) your report with the current data without modifying the original report.

Adobe Acrobat (PDF)[Page-based]. The exported documents are intended for printing and redistribution. Acrobat format will export both layout and formatting in a manner that is consistent with how the report looks on the Preview tab.

Acrobat format embeds the TrueType fonts that appear in the document. (Non-TrueType fonts are not supported.)

This export format does not support Microsoft font-linking technology, which is used to provide support for some extended character sets such as Chinese HKCS. Therefore, the fonts used in the report must contain all of the required glyphs.

The following URI types are supported for hyperlinks: http:, https: and mailto:.

HTML 4.0[Page-based]. You would typically select this if you wanted to create a report that wanted to publish on a website or email to a recipient. An HTML page per report page is generated in the directory you specify. Once published or emailed, the report can be viewed without requiring SYSPRO programs.

This format preserves the layout and formatting of the report by using DHTML.

All the images in the report are saved externally and a hyperlink is inserted in the exported HTML output. Therefore, this export format generates more than one file in the output.

Microsoft Excel (XLS)[Page-based]. This converts your report contents into Excel cells on a page-by-page basis. Contents from multiple pages are exported to the same Excel worksheet.

The export program creates multiple worksheets to accommodate data if a worksheet becomes full and there is more data to export.

If a report object covers more than one cell, then the export program merges cells to represent a report object.

Microsoft Excel has a limit of 256 columns in a worksheet, so any report object (or part thereof) that is added to cells beyond 256 columns is not exported.

This export format retains most of the formatting, but it does not export line and box objects from your report.

OptionsDescription
Export page header and page footersThis lets you include the header and page footer information when exporting the report. Options include None, Once per report (the default) or On each page.

This effectively lets you include details of the operator who created the report.

Microsoft Word (RTF)The exported file contains text and drawing objects to represent report objects. Individual objects are placed in text frames.

This format is intended for use in applications such as fill-out forms where the space for entering text is reserved as empty text objects.

Almost all of the formatting is retained in this export format. Text objects cannot, however, be placed outside the left edge of the page. So, if you have text objects in your report that are placed before the left edge of the printable area, they will be pushed right (this is most noticeable in reports with wide pages).

Text (TXT)Exports the report to a plain text file. For client-side reporting, you can specify the characters per inch and number of lines per page.
Comma Separated Values (CSV)[Server-side printing]. This lets you export the report to a comma-separated-values (CSV) file.
OptionsDescription
DelimiterThis is the character you want to use to wrap around each field in the record.
SeparatorThis is the character you want to use to separate the fields or columns in a record.
File nameThis is the location (specify the full path and file name) to which you want to save the report.

The file name cannot contain characters that are reserved in XML (e.g. ' : & ' > <).

Print report  
Printer Options This lets you define parameters for printing the report to a specific printer or PDF printer.
[Note]

You can define the default paper size to use for your specific reports using the Default printing paper size option (SYSPRO Reporting Services->Setup->Setup Options).
Preview report This displays the report on the screen after processing all output options selected.

This option is selected by default if Print Preview is enabled from the SYSPRO Desktop.

This option has no effect when using server side printing. Once the report is requested by the client, it is sent directly to the server for processing which enables the client to continue working or even to shut down. When a report has been processed, it must be opened from the SRS Report Queue.
Save report options Saves your selections for future runs of the report.
Clear Form This resets all the options on all the tab pages to the SYSPRO default selections.
Archive report This saves the report in the SYSPRO Reporting Service archive (\Base\reportarchive folder).

This field can be controlled using the Always archive report and Disable archive report options (SYSPRO Reporting Services->Setup->Setup Options).

See Activity considerations in Notes and warnings.
Process This generates the report according to your selections.
[Note]

At least one output method must be selected on the Output Options tab before you can select to process the report.

Report Preview

Field Description
Email Emails the report.
Stop Stop processing the current report.
Export to Excel Exports the report to an Excel spreadsheet.
Microsoft Excel
Options Description
Export to Excel options  
Constant column width Fix the width for all columns that are exported. If selected, enter the constant column width required.
Column width based on objects in the Select the part of the report you want to base the column width on.
Export page header and page footers This lets you include the header and page footer information when exporting the report. Options include None, Once per report (the default) or On each page.

This effectively lets you include details of the operator who created the report.
Create page breaks for each page Add the page breaks as designed in Crystal Reports. To add page breaks automatically in Excel, do not select this option.
Convert date values to string Keep the date formatting of the report in Excel.
Show gridlines Add gridlines on the report in Excel.
Page range Select the pages that are to be exported.
Microsoft Excel Data-only
Options Description
Export to Excel options  
Constant column width Fix the width for all columns that are exported. If selected, enter the constant column width required.
Column width based on objects in the Select the part of the report you want to base the column width on.
Options  
Export object formatting Export the report formatting to Excel. This will ensure the data types are maintained.
Export images Export the images in the report to Excel.
Use worksheet functions for summaries Convert report summaries to Excel functions (numbers with formulas).
Maintain relative object position Keep the objects in the report in the same position when exported to Excel.
Maintain column alignment Keep the alignment the same as the report.
Export page header and footer This lets you include the header and page footer information when exporting the report. Options include None, Once per report (the default) or On each page.

This effectively lets you include details of the operator who created the report.
Simplify page headers Export only the last row of the page header section.
Show group outlines Add the lines that separate the report groups in Excel.
Export to Text Exports the contents of the report as a text file. When you select this option, the report contents are displayed in a Notepad editor.
Select Expert Applies a selection formula to the report to filter the data without re-running the report. This makes the report easier to read by only displaying certain records in the report.
[Note]

This option is not available for archived and scheduled reports.
Record Specify criteria for displaying records in the report.
Group Specify criteria for displaying group data in the report.
Saved Data Displays the report with the saved data. This applies to reports previously exported or reports which you designed and saved the data against using the Save data report option.

Any changes made to the database after the report was saved do not affect the report (i.e. the program does not refer to the database when generating the report).
Clear all selection formulas Clears any previously-specified selection formulas in the current run of the program using the Select Expert option.
Refresh Queries the database to redisplay the report on the screen at the selected page.

This only applies when generating a report that extracts data directly from a database (i.e. not when using a business object to extract the data).

If you highlight a parameter you defined using the Crystal 2008 Report Designer and select Refresh, the parameter prompt is displayed and can be changed.
Export to CSV Exports the report to a comma-separated-values (CSV) file.

Each record in the file is typically a single line and each field in the record is delimited by a specific delimiter (e.g. a comma).

See also: Notes and warnings.

FieldDescription
CSV export options 
DelimiterIndicate the delimiter character to use to wrap around each field in the record. This defaults to " (double quotes).
SeparatorIndicate the delimiter character to use to separate the fields or columns in a record. This defaults to , (comma).
TabSelect this to use a Tab as the delimiter for separating the fields in each record. When you select this option, the Separator field is disabled.
Mode
OptionDescription
Standard modeSelect this to indicate what to do with the page and group sections of the report when exported.
Legacy modeExports the report to the file to resemble the rpt format of the report.
PathIndicate the location to which you want to export the report.
Report sections 
Report and page sectionsSelect whether you want to write all report headers and footers and page headers and footers to the export file.
Isolate report or page sectionsWrites all report headers and footers and page headers and footers to the export file, but isolates them in the file.

This creates a bigger file which resembles the rpt version of the report where everything is more spaced out and easier to read.

Otherwise the report and page headers and footers are included in each record of the file.

Group sections 
Group sectionsSelect whether you want to write all Group headers and footers to the export file.
Isolate group sectionsWrites all group headers and footers to the export file, but isolates them in the file.

This creates a bigger file which resembles the rpt version of the report where everything is more spaced out and easier to read.

Otherwise the group headers and footers are included in each record of the file.

Advanced Export Exports the report to a specific format and enables you to specify the page ranges to export where applicable.
Export Report Exports (saves) the report in a specific location. This defaults to Crystal Reports (*.rpt).

When you export a single document, the default file name is created using the document type and the key field (e.g. customer number, invoice number, quotation number, purchase order number, etc). When you export a batch of documents, the last document number or key field is used as a reference in the file name.

See also: Notes and warnings.
Print Report Outputs the report to a printer.
Copy  
Toggle Parameter Panel View the parameters and parameter values entered for the report using the Crystal 2008 Report Designer.
Toggle Group Tree Displays the values of the primary key sequence used in grouped reports (e.g. Inventory Valuation) in a treeview.
Find Locates text within the report.
Zoom Changes the size of the report displayed on the screen. This has no effect on the size in which the report is printed.
Close Current View (x) Closes the currently displayed tab. This only applies to reports that contain sub-reports and does not apply to the Preview tab.

Notes and warnings

Date considerations

  • The Prepared date printed on each report is the System date on which the report was generated. The company (or temporary company) date is ignored. In a client/server environment, the client system date is used.

Export considerations

  • If you use the Export Report icon (from the Print Preview window) to export reports that contain sub-reports, then only the Main Report or the sub-report on the tab page you are currently displaying is exported. This enables you to export only the main report or any of the sub-reports individually.

    If you use the Export to CSV option (from the Print Preview window) to export the report, then the Main Report and all sub-reports are exported.

Activity considerations

Operator access to the following activities within this program can be restricted. You configure this using the Operators program.

Activity Description
SRS View operator group archived items This activity, together with the activity SRS View all archived items controls whether an operator can view archived reports.

  • If neither of these two activities is enabled, then the operator can only view archived reports that they have created.

  • If this activity is enabled and the activity SRS View all archived items is disabled, then the operator can only view archived reports generated by members of the operator group to which the operator belongs.

  • If this activity is disabled and the activity SRS View all archived items is enabled, then this activity has no effect and the operator can view all archived reports.
SRS View all archived items Controls whether an operator can view archived reports, regardless of whether the SRS View operator group archived items activity is enabled.

Hints and tips

Archiving

  • Archiving reports enables you to identify which reports were run, when they were run and by whom. This is also useful for customized SRS reports. In addition, reports are readily available for printing, reprinting or emailing.