| pblais@odstrategies.org 2006-07-10, 6:55 pm |
| Some times it is better to roll your own report. Use the Report IDE to
make all the detail bands you need then just print them using source
code. You can speed the process up by making a queue of all the data
(multiple queues work too). or use a VIEW to gather all the data and
in you case use 3 views. A view is as fast as you get in Clarion.
Then in the report you just make a loop bringing the data into scope
and PRINT() the bands as you need to. Using this approach I once used
one report procedure to make 10 different reports. You use passed
parameters to the report procedure to let the report hold all the
code that manages the bands. Think of the report procedure as a dumb
set of report bands that are all detail bands. The good news is all
the report share the standard footer. It's a great way to make report
flexible but keep a standard look that is easy to update.
Find the part of the code that does all the PRINT commands and use an
OMIT to block all the calls and then place your own code in the
procedure to make the magic work. I have found this to be a very
efficient solution when you have bands that take a whole lot of work
and you want to re use the definition for things like an Order, Work
order, Bill of Lading that basically have the same info but different
headers and other minor differences.
Clarion lets you go totally outside the box and from time to time it
is worth the trouble.
Reports are one of those areas I always hated. The client know exactly
what they don't like and it looks like your report<G>. Reports need to
change easily. It is one of the things I learned years ago. It may be
perfect one day and unacceptable the next. Make it easy to change and
keep your clients happy. You would be amazed at the times I had to
make a report change based on a phone call in the morning and had to
have he new report in a few hours. Make reports easy to change! Spend
a little extra time up front so you can look smart later on.
On 9 Jul 2006 12:48:22 -0400, tom <tropictom@comcast.net> wrote:
>i need to be able to produce a report.
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Paul Blais - Hayes, Virginia
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