Generating a customized report
The custom reports feature allows you to create your own reports, based on the data provided from the database tables. This feature is meant for advanced users.
A third-party application called JasperReports (
https://www.jaspersoft.com/) is required to create a customized report using the exported data set.
The first step is to select the data you want to use for the customized report.
To select the data set for the customized report:
1. On the Reports menu, click Customized Data. The Customized Data Wizard appears.
2. On the Select a Data Set page, select the type of data you want to export as follows:
a) In the Data Set box, select and existing data set or select <New> to create a new one.
b) In the View box, select a view. These are pre-defined groupings of tables from the database. You can only select one view per data set.
c) Click Next.
NOTE: Data set selections are saved in the DS-Operator .ini file (oper.ini).
3. On the Select Display Columns page, select the specific data fields that you want to export as follows:
NOTE: To select multiple fields, use the SHIFT or CTRL keys.
a) To add a data field, select the field from the Available Columns list and then click Add.
b) To remove a data field, select the field from the Selected Columns list and then click Remove.
c) To change the order of the selected data fields, click Up and Down.
NOTE: This is the order in which the data fields will be written.
d) Click Next.
4. On the Select Order page, select the order in which the data set will be sorted as follows:
NOTE: To select multiple fields, use the SHIFT or CTRL keys.
a) To add a data field, select the field from the Available Columns list and then click Add.
b) To remove a data field, select the field from the Selected Columns list and then click Remove.
c) To change the order of the selected data fields, click Up and Down.
NOTE: This is the order in which the data fields will be written. If you do not make a selection, data will be written as it is read from the database. This sort order is not used by JasperReports.
d) Click Next.
5. On the Set Data Filters page, set filters for the data as follows:
NOTE: If you do not set any filters, all data is exported. If you set a filter, only data that matches the filter is exported.
a) In the Filter Column, select the data field that you want to filter.
b) Configure the available filter options for the data field. The Filter Value displays how the filter will be applied to the corresponding data field.
NOTE: If the filter value is left blank, no filter will be applied and all data for that field will be returned.
c) Click Next.
6. On the Enter Data Set Name page, specify a name for the data set as follows:
a) In the Data Set Name box, type a name for the data set.
b) To save the data set settings (except for data filters) in the DS-Operator .ini file (oper.ini) so that you can reuse the same data set, select the Save data set settings check box.
c) To export the data set to a file, select the Export data to file check box.
d) Click Next.
7. On the Confirm Data Set Summary page, review the summary to ensure that the data set is customized as required, and then click Finish.
8. If you selected the Export data to file option, save the data set as either an XML or CSV file.
NOTE: To create a custom report template, you must save the data in XML format.
After this step is completed, you will have a data set file containing the data fields you chose to export from the database. You can use the data set file to generate a custom report. If you want to generate multiple custom reports, you must use the data fields to create a reusable custom report template.
To create a customized report template:
1. Using JasperReports, create your custom report based on the fields from the exported data set (XML file).
2. Once you have created the compiled .jasper file, copy it to the local \report subdirectory where the DS-Operator (dsoper.jar) is installed. If the folder does not exist, create it.
To generate a customized report:
1. On the Reports menu, click Customized Reports.
2. In the Template name box, select the custom report you wish to view. The list shows the compiled report template files in the \report subdirectory of this installation of DS-Operator GUI.
3. Click Next. The Customized Report Wizard - Select Data Filters dialog box appears.
4. If necessary, set a filter, and then click Next.
By default, all data is displayed in the report. If you set a filter, the custom report will display only data that matches the filter.
5. In the Select order by columns page, choose a sort order if required, and then click Next.
If you do not make a selection, data will be displayed as it is read from the database.
6. In the Confirm Report Summary page, click Finish. The custom report appears.